The Path to Purity
by Woot69
Summary: Sequel to Drink and the Devil. James' obsession with saving the Wasteland blinded him to some brutal realities. Unbeknownst to him, the fallout of his plans and sacrifices will follow him across the Wasteland... James/Colin slash.
1. Chapter 1

Getting used to vault life helped make those first years distracting enough to keep things according to plan. Unfortunately, part of acclimating involved coping with some major surprises. Only a year after their arrival, Overseer Alphonse Almodovar's wife fell ill with an unknown disease. Despite frantic testing to determine the exact nature of the ailment and his best efforts to halt the progress of the disease, his patient had succumbed quickly. Expecting rage from the Overseer, he was bewildered to note the man remained a consummate politician in the wake of his spouse's death. Immediately after she was pronounced dead, he merely thanked the physician for his efforts. The only difference James could detect was in his eyes. The wary suspicion had vanished, replaced by something cold and steely.

Further research into the nature of Ms. Almodovar's symptoms revealed that in years past, other vault members had experienced similar symptoms. Whatever had caused these cases had a high fatality rate but was slow to show itself. Based on the facts he uncovered through the vault's medical computer system, the vault lost one of its own to the disease once every thirty years or so. The problem far predated his arrival at the vault and yet, in the months that followed Ms. Almodovar's death, he had a growing suspicion that Alphonse blamed his arrival for the abrupt termination of his wife's life. He began to develop and test hypotheses as to where and how the microorganism operated. Where was it going dormant? What was awakening it? As the months passed, he felt a growing sense of urgency and fear regarding the puzzle. He couldn't risk the life of his son and the lives of those who trusted him with their well being; he had to come up with an answer. So, he'd enlisted the help of Beatrice Armstrong to watch over Junior as he spent many long, grueling hours in the medical lab.

Finally, a year and a half after his arrival at the vault, he'd hit upon a solid lead. Upon cross checking the maintenance records with the medical records, he noticed that every recurrence of the illness was prefaced by a major breakdown of the vault's air scrubbing or water purification systems. He'd raced to the maintenance department and spoken with Stanley Armstrong about his discovery. Stanley had eagerly provided all that he knew about the workings of the various life support systems of the vault, and the history of repairs to those systems. Prior to her illness, the purifier connected to Ms. Almodovar's private bathroom had been fixed with parts from the repair stockpile. The two of them spent long hours gathering samples of the vault's air and water, and even began sampling the piles of materials the maintenance crew used to patch up system breakdowns. What they discovered was frightening - the majority of the repair stockpile was contaminated. Even more frightening was the fact that Overseer Almodovar had permanently severed interactions with the outside world only weeks after his wife's untimely demise. In preparation, he'd authorized the purchase of tons of repair materials, enough to theoretically last for centuries. Unless he could get the Overseer to see reason and open the vault back up to outside trading, the lives of the vault dwellers were in jeopardy.

Armed with months of research, he'd charged to the Overseer's office and insisted upon a meeting with the man. Hours later, he'd left the office unsure of what, if anything had been accomplished. Alphonse had silently listened to his arguments and stoically rifled through the papers and charts James had placed in front of him. And the only response James had been able to elicit was "Let me think about it". The long trek back to the clinic had been a frustrating one. How had the man not been immediately anxious to take drastic action? His primary purpose was to ensure the safety of the residents of the vault! When Stanley called him later to check on the situation, he sounded confused but not surprised at the Overseer's reactions.

No one but James was shocked when Jonas entered his clinic a couple weeks later and informed him that the Overseer had appointed him as James' assistant. He remembered staring at the man with a look of befuddled bewilderment as his new assistant explained the assignment. The Overseer had hoped that Jonas would be a voice of reason that would curb the doctor's "flights of fancy". He'd undoubtedly looked a mess as Jonas appraised him; arms grasping patient files, dark circles accentuating his haunted eyes, stress etched in wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. Jonas nodded once he'd finished his thoughts about his new boss, and silently stepped forward to alleviate James of his burden. His actions had a kind undertone to them, not one of pity. And over the weeks that followed, Jonas became an invaluable help; he was always benevolent and possessed a mind that was equal to James'. This made further experiments regarding the health of the vault a breeze. As the months turned into years, the two of them became close friends. When he reflected back on the early days of their collaboration, he felt guilt that he'd ever suspected Jonas of being a spy, or the Overseer's lap dog. Reading through Jonas' personnel file had shown Jonas to be the obvious choice for the position of doctor's assistant. In addition to his intelligence and superb social skills, he had no demands on his time outside of work since he was single and child free.

So their collaboration continued in the usual vein and over the years things settled into a seemingly normal routine. For James, it would never be truly normal; the threat of the repair stockpile weighed constantly on his mind. And it was that threat that eventually led him back to his Purity obsession. Fixing the vault issue was a necessity; fixing the Wasteland was his destiny. Late at night, he would pull out the Purity notes from the box hidden under his bed and refresh his memory on the project's issues and intricacies. Eventually he began sneaking into the clinic's lab when he was sure Jonas was asleep to begin actual research again. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt the need to keep his work on Purity under wraps; Jonas held no love for the Overseer and he was fairly certain his friend wouldn't think him odd. An answer came to him one day when he started thinking about the purpose of his work and the future. He'd been working on a chemical formula for dissolving irradiated particles suspended in water when the realization hit him. The Overseer irrationally refused to budge on his policy of dealing with the outside world; to him, the Wastelands essentially did not exist. This meant no messages to Dr Li and the remnants of their research team. And that just _would not _do.

If Jonas thought it odd that James suddenly had an intense obsession with the vault's historical records, or that his caffeine consumption suddenly reached unhealthy levels, he didn't show it. He hadn't been sure what he'd been looking for initially. From what he could tell, there were two options available to get his information to Dr. Li, and both were abhorrent. The lesser of two evils was figuring out which terminals in the vault had been granted access to the outside, and find a way to hack those terminals. He recalled one of Colin's favorite quotes then: "It's better to ask forgiveness than permission". He'd always grimaced when Colin had said it; it was so ethically questionable and he'd disliked being reminded of that side of Colin. Now he felt a vague sense of understanding, chased by a soft ache. Understanding Colin would do no good, since they'd not see each other again.

The second option was one he knew he would be unable to do, even as a last resort. Were he to come upon any incriminating information tucked away in any of the records, he _could _use it as leverage to force the Overseer to open communication with Rivet City. He'd been pondering how awful it was that such a course of action even entered his head on the day Jonas discovered his plans. With the last bit of energy he had that day, he finally found the entries relating to the scouting party the Overseer had sent out years ago. Anne Palmer had led the expedition to explore the Wasteland in 2241, and hadn't gone any farther than Megaton. When Jonas entered the room he didn't even hear the door open; his poor overstressed, overtired brain had finally gone on strike. He stared unseeing at the computer terminal he was hunched over, not even moving when Jonas had waved a hand in front of his face. Jonas had maneuvered him back to his room and ordered him not to come back to the lab unless he had a full night's sleep. He'd succumbed to slumber before his head reached the pillow.

And the next day, Jonas took him aside and laid his plans out as clearly as if he'd pulled them out from James' mind. He should have known better than to keep anything from his assistant; his sharp, inquisitive mind tore through mysteries as if they were tissue paper. By that time, Jonas knew him better than he knew himself; when he read the entries James had been obsessing over, he knew there was something fueling such intense interest. Jonas had told him that the Overseer had ordered several holotapes regarding Rivet City's researchers a couple months before announcing to the Vault that they would be getting a new doctor. The day Jonas had been reassigned to be the doctor's assistant, he'd gone to the library and read everything he could find on the man he would be working for. Project Purity had naturally been mentioned in several of the entries. Everything clicked into place once all the pieces of the puzzle had been identified. At the end of his discourse, Jonas had casually mentioned that he wanted in on James' plans. The research, opening communications to the outside, everything.

In his preoccupation with Purity, he'd forgotten to inform Jonas of the vault's health issues and their cause. Jonas immediately went to work on that while James continued combing the vault's history for anything useful. Then it occurred to him that Almodovar had been the Overseer of the vault for most of his life, and there might be useful information in the man's private files. It had been easy enough to remotely access his console, hack the password and gain entry to the files he sought. Most of it had been garbage - propaganda, spy reports and insipid rambling. But he finally hit the jackpot when he came across a name he recognized, Doctor Stanislaus Braun. Every scientist in the Wasteland knew of Doctor Braun, he was quite possibly the most brilliant man alive. He'd been one of Vault-Tec's researchers, and was the reason every vault was built with the most advanced technology in the world. The entry that offered up Braun's name also mentioned his work on the GECK - Garden of Eden Creation Kit. It was a terraforming module that supposedly could create life from lifelessness. These GECKs had been sent to select vaults, but 101 had not been one of them. That discovery was what he'd been waiting for; Madison would be compelled to restart Purity once she learned of the GECK!

But after he calmed down and conferred with Jonas, they decided to wait a bit longer to send their information. They didn't know where Braun or a usable GECK were, and the technical research on Purity was still sketchy. So they divided their time between Purity and fixing the vault's dilemma. Coincidentally, the solution to the vault's problem arose during Purity's research. Combining elements of how the GECK worked with James' earlier research on particle scrubbing led them to develop plans for a workable contraption that would scrub any impurities from the vault's resources. But they needed parts that the lab didn't have; Stanley provided what he could, and they got the rest by "borrowing" parts from the Overseer's private storage rooms. James' lock picking skills most likely rivaled Colin's after all the practice he'd gotten. He'd felt guilty one day when it took less than ten seconds for him to pick a very complicated lock; Colin had tried to teach him how to pick locks but he'd always turned him down. When he was young, his ethics hadn't allowed him to do such things. He'd briefly entertained the thought of what Colin would think of him after almost twenty years of ethics erosion, then shook his head to clear such thoughts. They were of no use to him.

And one glorious day, James and Jonas stood victorious over the vault's dark secret. They had caught and corrected the problem before any major malfunctions happened. With the repair stockpile cleaned, they turned their attention fully to Purity. With two brilliant minds dedicated to it, everything had fallen almost neatly into place. Nineteen years after moving to the vault, James and Jonas finally decided they had enough information that would motivate the researchers on the surface to continue and allow them to easily complete any pieces they had missed.

Almost two decades of research proved to be too much information to transmit via electronic means, however. He recalled the two of them staring dishearteningly at the hidden folder on the computer early one morning. They had used almost all of the vault's quiet time and hardly any of the information had been pushed through the line they had hacked to the outside. Jonas had been the one to reluctantly suggest leaving the vault. He'd also pointed out the fact that James would have to be the one who went to Rivet City with the files. While Jonas was very knowledgeable about Purity, he still didn't know as much as Purity's head researcher. James had refused to even listen to Jonas' idea at first - he couldn't leave his child! They were finally able to seriously discuss the idea when his assistant promised to stay behind and take care of Junior. It had taken James weeks to come to terms with the idea; while he thought, he spent excessive amounts of time with Junior, much to the teen's dismay. While he and Junior were close, his son was of the age where he'd rather spend time with friends than with his old man.

In his final days in the vault, they had obtained information vital to their plan; there was a secret tunnel leading from the overseer's office directly to the vault's exit. The tunnel would allow them to bypass the ever present guards at the door to the exit room. Jonas had gathered traveling supplies while James made sure all the Purity files were in one place and ready for transport. Once he'd made peace with the idea of leaving his child for sake of the Wasteland, he was able to figure out a way to say goodbye to Junior without making it seem like he was doing so. Though Junior had squirmed in discomfort, he'd tucked his son in bed the night before his departure. He'd gazed lovingly at the person who meant the world to him and softly asked if Junior knew how much he loved him. Junior had looked a little confused at first, then reached up and hugged his father tightly. As he'd watched Junior slip into slumber, he thought of how proud Catherine would have been of the man he'd become.

Those final hours had been hell; Jonas had ordered him to get some rest but sleep had refused to come. He'd finally gotten up and gone to the lab ahead of schedule and had been amused that Jonas had the same idea. His goodbye to Jonas had been almost as painful as parting with his son; they had side stepped those feelings by reassuring each other that every possible contingency had been planned for. Jonas would stay behind to tend to the vault residents, care for Junior, and calm the Overseer and his guards down. James had been practicing shooting in the generator room and reviewing any and all maps he could find on the Wasteland. He remembered his mind going blank as he shouldered his travel pack and they stealthily made their way to the Overseer's quarters. Of course their plan would work. It would have to.


	2. Chapter 2

Jonas and James had just barely managed to escape Officer Park's notice by hiding in the supply closet. Though it wasn't against the rules for adults to walk vault halls in the wee hours of the morning, James couldn't risk being seen laden with traveling supplies. While vault security was largely incompetent - they were chosen by Almodovar, after all - they had enough brain power to put two and two together. They were just down the hall from the Overseer's quarters now; once Park's steps could no longer be heard, the two slipped out and continued to the room. His quarters were the largest in the vault because they contained private rooms for a family of three, a research area, and the Overseer's office. While Jonas worked at the lock on the door, James watched the halls for more patrols. He doubted anyone would be back around for some time; this was the time when the fewest security members were awake. Jonas made a quiet noise of victory as the latch switched open without alerting security. They shared a brief look of victory, and stealthily moved inside.

Because of the top quality construction on the quarters of the vault's most important resident, they felt secure enough to speak in soft tones. "This is it, James. Let's go over things one more time." Jonas rubbed at the tension in his neck with a shaky hand. For once, James was grateful for his natural inclination to be emotionally numb during times of stress. "I can easily get into the office without alerting security. What I'm most concerned about is opening that tunnel. Ideally, we want no register of access, and no alarms. These walls are definitely thick enough to muffle the opening and closing of the tunnel. I have an hour after you leave to edit the registry so any recent access is eliminated. He'll eventually figure it out, but he won't know exactly when you left. That will most likely squash any determination to send anyone after you." They walked over to the door to the office and Jonas knelt to begin work on it. "By the time he's pieced it all together, he'll realize I'm the only doctor he has left and he won't take disciplinary action against me. But I'm a pretty convincing liar when I have to be; when everything has calmed down, he'll only be angry at you."

James was partially listening to Jonas' nervous rundown of the immediate future. His fingers were fiddling with a blank holotape he'd stashed in the pocket of his traveling coat. It was unnecessary for him to record a farewell for his son; Jonas had an excellent memory and would have a long discussion with Junior once things calmed down. But dark tendrils of fear were lurking in the back of his mind, increasing the sense of urgency to create a backup message - just in case. The office door opened and they moved over to the computer that would allow them access to the tunnel. As the office door closed behind them, James finally pulled the blank tape out of his pocket. He pushed the record button as Jonas began to narrate how he was bypassing initialization files. Had it been necessity for the duo to work in complete silence, Jonas would have been a wreck by the time their mission was over. He always was excessively chatty during nervous moments, but was rarely nervous.

"Hold on Jonas, I need to record this first." Jonas shot him a look of confusion. "It'll help me feel better. Just... a personal message might make him a little less angry." Jonas nodded, and muttered a stream of self talk while he resumed work on the computer. "Son, let me begin by saying I'm sorry. About leaving you, about making you find out this way. We kept you in the dark about my plans to escape, so you'll have plausible deniability when the Overseer questions you. Jonas will explain what he can to you once things quiet down. If I know the Overseer, he'll blame everything on me and leave you and Jonas alone. I want you to look to Jonas for guidance from now on. He's a good man, an idealist like me. If you're interested, he'll be happy to change your assignment from vault marriage counselor to doctor. I'd hoped the G.O.A.T. would have picked up on your natural inclination towards medicine but it just got your desire to help others. Ah, listen to me! I'm rambling and I don't have much time. I can't tell you where I'm going because I don't want you to follow me. Vault life might not be perfect but it's safer than where I'll be by the time you hear this. And knowing you'll be safe will keep me going."

"Doc? I hate to interrupt, but I'd like to get this over with. Not sure that my nerves can take much more of this." Jonas grinned at James. James smiled back and nodded; while they waited for the door to slide open, he said one last thing into the recorder. "Junior... never forget I love you. Goodbye." He handed the tape to Jonas, who wordlessly placed it in his pocket. Words weren't necessary, and neither of them could tear their attention away from the rising desk. Finally, it locked into place. James hugged Jonas then, and fought the wave of sadness that threatened to break through his numbness. "Maybe one day circumstances will change, and I'll be able to see you and Junior again..." Jonas squeezed James, and hurried back to the terminal. He looked as if he were about to cry, which explained his silence. With a wave goodbye, he turned on his pip boy flashlight and stepped into the darkness. The door slowly began to close.

Just before it closed completely, all hell broke loose. The radroach infestation sirens began to wail. SHIT. The one contingency they hadn't planned for! His steps quickened as he moved toward the hidden switch at the end of the hallway. Maybe Jonas could get out of the Overseer's quarters before the vault's leader roused to deal with the latest crisis. He always had arrived at the scenes of vault crises later than one would expect of him, which was unusual for one as obsessed with his "happy family". Even if he didn't, Jonas was right; Almodovar wouldn't jail the vault's only doctor. And Jonas carried a weapon against radroaches as most vault residents did. Jonas would be fine, he reassured himself as he pressed the switch that lowered the wall and allowed him into the vault's exit room. On the plus side, he wouldn't have to use the tranquilizer on the lone guard posted by the official door. He'd undoubtedly rush off to deal with the radroach problem until the bulk of security's forces were mobilized.

The wall slid closed behind him as he ran over to the control panel on the vault door. It was extremely simple; there was an open/shut button, and a switch that controlled speed of door movement. He pushed the open button and cranked the speed to max. He could barely hear the radroach sirens over the horn that signaled the vault door was opening. As it began opening, he turned the speed back down to slow and smacked the button to close the door. Dashing around the railing - as best he could with a full travel bag - he raced toward the gap in the door as the gear slowly reversed itself and began to shut. He'd just made it through when the last bits of artificial light from the vault were blocked. Holding his pip boy high, he made his way through the rubble and debris toward the faint natural light that shone in the distance. He reached in his pocket for the sun blocking visor he'd procured and slipped them on. No telling how harsh natural light would be on his optic nerves after almost twenty years underground. He reached the door at the far end of the tunnel and tugged at the handle. The door stuck on the first few tries, which was expected. Years of exposure to the outside had obviously warped the wood frame a bit. But he kept at it and finally stepped back out into the Wasteland.

Even through his visor, the light was so intense he couldn't see much of anything for about fifteen seconds. The Wasteland... he wasn't sure how he felt now. It looked the same as it did twenty years ago. He surveyed his surroundings slack-jawed, mind blank. _Go; just go_... his mind finally urged. Tracking him down definitely wouldn't be a priority now that the vault was dealing with an infestation bad enough to require a vault-wide warning. Even so, it would be wise to put as many miles between him and the vault as possible. Once his eyes finished their adjustments, he began walking in a random direction. All those months of route planning were silent in the face of the overwhelming feelings that broke through his numbness. The plan to leave the vault was a success! His head swam with that joy, and a surprising wave of gratitude at his return to the Wasteland. But underneath it all there was sadness and guilt for leaving Jonas and Junior. He let his feet take him where they may while he tried to wrestle his concerns back under control.

From the placement of the sun in the sky, he estimated the time of day was early afternoon. He'd try traveling during the day and if the heat became too much, he'd sleep during the day and travel at night. God, the sun was so beautiful. Even though the sky was perpetually hazy, it was so much better than the drab gray of the vault ceilings. Casually, he tried to place the genus and species of a scrubby brush that he passed but came up with nothing. Even after years of practice, he found it harder to think when he'd had little or no sleep. The lonely whistle of the Wastelands sang to him, some dried brush blew past. Since there were no clearly defined clouds to see shapes in, he imagined the rock clusters he passed to be buildings and spaceships. He idly considered pulling up the map of the Wastelands he had programmed into his pip boy but after years of confinement, he was content to merely wander. The sense of urgency would come later, he knew, so he was resolved to enjoy this... shock? Peace? His pace was quick; his vision fell to his feet as he traveled. It was easy to see for quite a ways around him and he saw no immediate threats - no giant ants, no mole rats. Perhaps it was too hot for them to bother travelers. He hoped his luck would hold but knew the gun attached to his belt was ready for action if luck failed him.

Time passed; he walked unmolested through the arid landscape, lost in his thoughts. It was only when a giant shadow blocked the sun that he pulled his gaze up from his boots to see what he had encountered. Thankfully, it wasn't a deathclaw, but what he saw was quite possibly worse than that. His feet - his subconscious, rather - had led him back to Megaton. There stood Deputy Weld, as he had twenty years earlier.

"Welcome to Megaton. The bomb is perfectly safe. Please hold for threat level assessment. Threat level minimal. Welcome back, Doctor James."

The doors lifted open with a loud whirring and clanking; James watched them lift numbly. Why had he come here? He had enough supplies for a week of traveling. And really, though he'd spent some interesting years here, he didn't feel nostalgic towards the city. There was only one reason he would have been drawn here, and he wasn't going there again. He'd already left the man twice. Though Colin might be a weasel at times, he still had a heart, and it was completely unfair for him to show up again, only to leave a third time. Absolutely unfair, so he should turn around and keep right on going. It wouldn't be too much longer to the Potomac; he could set up a discreet camp next to the irradiated waters, set a perimeter of mines to discourage any mutants or mirelurks, and catch a few hours of sleep. His mind told him that was a good, solid plan and yet he couldn't get his feet to budge. In fact, they carried him forward, to the last gate that stood between him and the town he became a doctor in. Deputy Weld remotely opened the secondary gate as the primary gate's panels whined back down into their closed position. Much like the Wasteland, Megaton hadn't changed at all.

As the secondary gates began to close themselves, he stepped through and stared in muted awe at the timeless city. Memories of professional success came to mind as he let his gaze linger on the tiny clinic. He looked at the restaurant and marveled at how much Jenny Stahl had changed. When he'd left, she had been five. Now she leaned casually against the wall of the Brass Lantern looking confident and happy. His eyes roamed everywhere but the one area he knew he would have to go. Didn't he just go through enough stress and turmoil? Why would he heap more onto his plate so soon after leaving his boy, his home, his best friend? But he knew he would have to see _him_. Colin's words came back to him then - _The Moriarity Charm cannot be denied, Jamie boy!_ He nodded absently and resolutely went to deal with the desires of his subconscious mind.

His courage faltered a bit as he finally reached the door of the saloon. It was entirely possible that Colin was dead, and it would be his bastard child running the establishment. Or maybe Gob was in charge, and never bothered to change the name on the sign. He highly doubted that was the case, as much hell as Colin had put the ghoul through during James' brief time visiting so long ago. Like most people, going into the unknown made him horribly anxious. But staring at the door wasn't going to get him any closer to resolving things, so he forced himself inside.

Colin was not in the best of moods; it was payday and parting with money always sat ill with him. He hunched over paperwork on the desk in his room, one hand scratching his silver gray hair idly as the other scribbled down figures. Damned if his underlings weren't expensive little fuckers, though his wages ensured he wouldn't have to replace them often.

His pen jerked across the paper as the door to his room slammed open, and a nervous Gob entered. "Boss! You... you gotta see who just came in here..." Colin didn't even turn around; if he did he might wind up stabbing his pen into Gob's faded eyes. "I don't care if it's Mary and Joseph carryin' the baby Jesus, you know better than to interrupt me on payday!" Gob sputtered and stammered as Colin buried his face in his hands and tried to breathe through the irritation. And it might've worked too, if the door hadn't slammed open a second time, admitting an equally agitated Nova. "Colin, hon... you're not going to believe who just came in here!" Colin turned to regard the pair with a look of barely concealed annoyance. "Children. I am trying to get some work done here. Who the hell is it that you think is so worthy of my time?" He cocked an eyebrow and waited for a response; the most he got out of them was Nova and Gob looking worriedly between Colin and the door. He sighed and stood up; normally he wouldn't reward bad behavior, but he was intrigued by the person that sent Gob and Nova into such a state. "Fine, I'll check it out. The both of you get back to work!"

They skittered ahead of him like radroaches, which made him smirk. The smirk died when he saw the only patron in the bar. He was standing by the entrance, so absorbed in reading something on the contraption on his arm that he hadn't noticed the bar staff's return to the main room. Mid morning light filtered into the room from the fan above the door, casting his face into light shadows. His hair was noticeably grayer, but still was the same length, and had the same soft wave to it. Long, graceful physician's fingers danced over the knobs of his arm gadget; Colin remembered what it felt like when they touched him. A thousand questions crowded his mind; first and foremost - how was he here? He'd vowed never to return to the Wastelands, said it would be impossible even if he wanted to. While that was a subject worthy of contemplation, Moriaritys were people of action. He cut his eyes over to Nova's typical lounging area to request her absence only to find she'd already vacated the area. But Gob had to stay in the main room and the walls were really too thin in this shit shack. They'd have to have their little conversation somewhere else, and he knew just the place.

With every step that carried him closer to his erstwhile lover, he felt darkness take hold of his mind. This was the only man he'd ever trusted, ever felt genuine feelings for, and James had thrown him aside like a used condom - more than once! He could've stayed when he was a youth and used that big brain of his to make Colin understand that it wasn't just a sexual relationship. After his return, he could've stayed in Megaton and built a life for his son here. Though he hated to admit it, the Simms family and their robots had always kept things orderly and safe inside the rusty walls of this blight on the Wastelands. By the time he reached James' side, he realized he was sick of it all. James' idealism, which had always been one of Colin's favorite things about him, now angered him. It was that feature that took and kept James away from him. And the way he casually reappeared twice screamed to Colin that James didn't give two shits about his feelings. Maybe James wasn't even aware that he had any - maybe all the years had turned Colin into just another caricature to the man. Perhaps he'd thought of Colin as an emotionless dictator or a deviant crime boss. Yes, he was a touch on the deviant side, and maybe what he did could be loosely termed as being a "crime boss", but he was no heartless tyrant. He felt his jaw clench and hands slowly turn to fists. But he held it together; it wouldn't do to show emotions somewhere his employees might see.

"Hello, James."

Colin watched as James jerked his head up to regard him with wide blue eyes. "Ah, Colin." James paused to press his lips together and take a deep breath before continuing. "Hello. You're... probably wondering what I'm doing here." He merely cocked an eyebrow at the doctor; he didn't trust what would come out of his mouth right at that moment. "Yes, well. Uh, it's a long story and... can we go someplace private?" Colin nodded once, and moved to open the door to the saloon. He felt his pockets to make sure he had a bobby pin in them as he watched James walk through the exit, though he knew he'd have at least one. No smart person went anywhere without a supply of bobby pins and a weapon, as far as he was concerned. He felt the pins in one pocket and a switchblade in the other, though he knew he wouldn't be using it. As angry as he was, he wasn't sure he could bring himself to harm James. He closed the door behind him, and indicated with his head that James should follow him.

Together, they made their way to the historically abandoned shack that was just above the Brass Lantern. Neither spoke a word; James didn't even comment when Colin squatted to pick the lock to the place. Once they were inside, he watched James' eyes scan the room and waited for the explanation he felt he was due.

"I didn't lie to you when I told you I'd never be back, Colin. It was only recently that my assistant and I discovered the necessity that I leave the vault, and we almost weren't able to pull off my... escape."

Colin cocked his eyebrow at James' choice of words. So he'd left the vault without the blessing of the Overseer... interesting.

"Explain necessity."

"My assistant - his name is Jonas, by the way - and I figured out what was holding the Purity team back all those years ago! And we tried to send the data to the Rivet City researchers, but..."

He uncrossed his arms and held a hand up, pausing James' flow of words. "So you were able to get messages to the outside?" James nodded, and then understanding of the underlying meaning of Colin's question flashed across his face. "I didn't send you any messages because I hadn't planned on ever leaving the vault. Continuing communications with you would have been like... poking at an open wound under those conditions, wouldn't it?" Colin detected worry and confusion on James' face now. This was so unlike any conversation they had ever had, and that was intensifying the awkwardness between them. "Why didn't you send word to me when you were making plans to leave?"

James broke eye contact to drop his eyes to the floor; his answer, when it came, was softly spoken. "It might have been intercepted... and it honestly didn't occur to me." Colin felt his hands clench at his sides at that. James reestablished eye contact, and threw out his hands in supplication. "Nineteen years, Colin! Initially I didn't think of you as a means to protect myself, and then it just became habit. But I'm here now, aren't I?"

This anger he was feeling - it was like fire ants were bathing him in flame, crawling over him. James had never been far from his mind in all the time they had spent apart. He'd been reshaped by the feelings the other had brought out in him. That ardor for James had made him into a different, less odious person. He'd shown vulnerability, given a part of himself to James... and he'd been disregarded, like a whore. All the questions he had were consumed by his inner storm; in a flash, he closed the distance between them and slammed his fist into James' jaw.

Colin prided himself on his strength as a fighter. He might not be the best with words, but he surely communicated well with his fists. And his hurt had laid James out on the floor, which is where the fuckin' bastard deserved to be. James propped himself up on one arm and used his free hand to cradle his jaw as he stared up at Colin with a look of shock. Colin tried desperately to control his emotions and his ragged breathing as he glared at the worm beneath him. "Don't come back to the bar, you'll be bounced if you do. Wait at the entrance and I'll send Gob out with more necessities for your trip. Then you'd best leave, and don't ever come back."

As calmly as he could manage, he turned and left the house. James called out to him to wait, but he was done with the man. From now on, James was dead to him.


	3. Chapter 3

_That went well._

James picked himself up off the ground and tentatively touched the blossoming bruise on his jaw. Of all the possible reactions he expected from Colin, _that _had not been one of them. He dusted off his backside, readjusted his travel bag and left the shack. Though it had only been a minute since Colin had stormed out, he was nowhere to be found. The man's ability to disappear was impressive. Even if you ran the whole way, it would take more than a minute to get back to the saloon. He walked down the ramp that led to the Brass Lantern and skirted the water pipe to head toward the entrance. It wasn't long before Gob approached him with a second travel bag, bulging with supplies. No words had been exchanged; James was too exhausted to do anything other than nod his thanks. He noted sadly that the brief interaction with Colin had drained him far more than escaping the vault did.

Tired or not, he had to put more distance between himself and the vault before nightfall. Now that the shock of rejoining the Wasteland had passed, he was able to clearly recall the discussions he and Jonas had regarding his itinerary. The final plan they had devised had his first major stop as Galaxy News Radio. Jonas had originally suggested a stop at Megaton but James had shot that down. He mulled over that in his head as Megaton turned into a speck behind him. He had known he would be rejoining Colin's world, but the predicted urge to see his lover had never presented itself. Had he fallen out of love with Colin in all their years apart? If he was honest with himself, that made no sense. Catherine had been dead for years and yet he still felt love for her as strong as ever after all these years. Had he misconstrued what he felt for Colin as love when it was really some sort of pheromone addiction? Though there was no one around to see, he shook his head. Despite Colin's ethically questionable sense of morality and his sometimes ghastly manners - _and _the recent rejection - the man still had his heart.

So why had he not immediately planned to reunite with Colin upon leaving the vault? Why was he not distraught over Colin's wrath and consequent dismissal?

Where the hell was he going?

The Pip Boy told him he'd been walking for hours. Though he had mostly stayed on the course he hoped would bring him to the GNR building, his lack of attention had caused a slight drift. Off in the distance, the Potomac lay like a sluggish green snake. He remembered the banks of the Potomac being dangerous two decades ago, due to heightened super mutant activity. It was undoubtedly much worse now - he needed to find a safer way to cross. After consulting the Pip Boy some more, he determined that the only feasible way to reach his destination would be underground. Scavengers would always tell tales of feral ghouls and giant insects populating the old train tunnels, but those were foes he could handle. As a matter of fact, he'd gladly take on a group of glowing ones if it meant avoiding one super mutant. God, he hated those things.

The day was racing to a close and he needed to start thinking about setting up camp. It was a relief to discover that he wasn't far from the Marigold Metro station. Too much time had passed and he'd encountered no threats; all the quiet was beginning to be a bit unsettling. He pulled out his gun, checked the ammunition level and headed toward the station entrance.

* * *

><p>Patrons and staff alike gave the glowering man at the end of the bar a wide berth; his eyes were pools of green rage and every taut muscle telegraphed his thirst for violence. Colin stared into the amber fluid in the shot glass as if he were trying to divine his future. The whiskey told him his destiny was getting righteously stewed, followed by a hangover that would drive lesser men to suicide. He'd only finished a quarter of the bottle since the scene in the abandoned house and he snorted at the thought. In his younger days, the bottle would have been long gone, and the empty would've been smashed against someone's head. Getting old really was a fat, stinking bitch.<p>

When people entered the saloon, he paid no mind. They could come and go, they could choke on a shot glass and die in the middle of the floor - it was all the same to him. He only minded when one particular bastard got in his personal space. Eyes were on him now, but he refused to move his own from the shot glass. He'd use the whiskey bottle to tell the ass to go away, but that would be a waste of good booze.

"I hear you can help me find my father."

Oh good, another lost little lamb. The Wasteland ate people up; not a month went by where he didn't have to shoo off some parentless whelp or freshly made widow. It was the harsh reality of life, he told them all. He would offer them the free tip of the solace they would find at the bottom of a bottle and leave them to their grief. There was no time for this now; every moment wasted on this fool was a moment he wasn't ingesting whiskey. His right hand gripped the shotglass while his left gripped the bottle. He'd toss the rest of the contents of the shotglass at the shit who wouldn't leave his side, but that also was a waste of good booze, on a smaller level. "He's a middle aged man, has a slight accent, blue eyes...?"

The shotglass paused halfway to his mouth. He moved his head just enough to see who was speaking to him in his peripheral vision. _James_? Turning in his chair, he fixed the irritant with his full gaze. _No, not James_. He slowly set the shotglass back on the bar and tried to gather his thoughts. Through the whiskey and the shock, he doubted he'd be able to manage anything interesting to say.

"My God, it's _you_. You have his eyes... James Junior..." Truly, the lad looked almost as James did when he first came to Megaton. His skin was darker and he was slightly shorter but otherwise, a spitting image. "The name's Colin Moriarty. I'm in charge around here. If you're looking for yer father, you've come to the right person." For reasons he didn't care to ponder, looking at Junior was proving to be difficult. The resemblance was unsettling, and it made his heart ache. He swiveled back to the bar and finished off the shot he'd poured.

"Mister Moriarty... how do you know who I am? You couldn't have met me. This is my first time out of the vault. My family has lived there for generations."

Colin gestured to the empty barstool next to him. He leaned over the bar, grabbed an extra shotglass and poured them both a shot as he settled on his seat. "Too bad that this is how you have to find out, but such is life. I met you when you were a baby and your father brought you here. He spent a few days here waiting to meet with the Overseer about moving into the vault. And...well… sorry about your mom, Junior." He clinked his glass against the bewildered boy's and tossed the liquid back. Junior followed suit, sputtering and coughing as the liquid burned its way down his throat. "But if that's the case... then dad lied to me. Why?"

Seconds passed while Colin's whiskey clouded mind struggled to come up with a suitable answer. "He loves you, that's why. He wanted to keep you safe. In the Wastelands, the vaults are supposed to be the safest places. Other than that, I can't really say. You'll have to ask him yourself. Which is what you're aiming to do! Well, kid, you have your work cut out for you. He left hours ago, has a large head start on you." He poured another round of shots and watched from his peripheral vision as Junior downed it quickly. He finished his own shot before continuing. "And I know where he's heading, and have a very good idea where he'll be stopping before he gets there. But I'm an information broker. That kind of information, it won't come cheap."

"Fine. Name your price, Mister Moriarity." Such a strong, steely voice from a mere whelp. Magnificence ran heavily through the bloodlines of that family.

Colin resolutely avoided the boy's gaze as he contemplated what he wanted. Really, there was only one thing that he wanted. But he had pushed him away; it was stunning how a few words from the man hurt more than all the bullets he'd ever taken. He dimly registered that his fingers were shaking as he recalled the rage that overtook his mind; he had struck his angel, and now he was in hell because of it. There was no way James had intended on hurting him. That damned overlarge heart of his had been so busy needing to save everyone in the wasteland; he'd just overlooked some small but important details. The idea of spending his remaining years in this rusted wreck of a town, knowing his heaven was accessible to him, suddenly made everything crystal clear. It didn't matter that he'd loved and lost twice. The only thing that mattered was tracking his James down, begging his forgiveness, and worshiping that glorious body every possible moment that they had left. He turned to Junior, feeling free and happy for the first time in forever.

"Ya have to let me come with ya. Though I'm usually stuck here, I'm a damned fine tracker. And you'll pardon me for saying so, but ya can't be that good with dealing with threats, fresh out of the vault as ya are. Either you let me accompany ya, or waste time stumbling around the wasteland. Your choice." He took a deep breath, feeling the tension drain out of him. If James' progeny was even remotely like his sire, the outcome of this situation would be laughably predictable.

"Uh. Um. Yes... sir, you... of course you can come with me. Why are you so eager to accompany me?" If only the kid knew how adorable he looked just now, slack jawed and confused, waiting for something of sense to come out of the mouth of the grizzled old Irishman he was conversing with. Colin snorted and stood, already miles deep in preparation for a long journey. "It'll take me a while to answer that. In the meantime, work on the rest of that bottle while I get ready for our journey." And he was off in a flash, shouting orders at any of his employees within earshot. While Gob and those he commandeered to help worked on getting suitable travel bags ready, he drew Nova aside to speak of more weighty matters. When he told her that he was leaving Megaton, most likely for good, she looked stunned. When he informed her that she and Gob would be taking over the bar, she launched herself at him, hugging him until he couldn't breathe. Ah, his bar and city would be in good care under his two most loyal employees.

The next hour passed in a blur. He was grateful to leave Megaton behind; it had been years since he'd set out on the open road. If he knew James at all, he knew the man would be drawn to other visionaries on his way to what was arguably the safest city in the Wastes. And in his personal pantheon of idealists, the only other standout was that yappy DJ, Three Dog. As they headed toward the bank of the Potomac, he tried to put himself in the mind of the doctor. Solo, middle aged, laden with gear and hopefully distraught over the loss of his love... he'd want the least suicidal method of reaching his goal. From what he'd gathered from his informants over the years, that would draw their quarry to the old system of underground train tunnels. So he set their course for the nearest Metro station.

At the beginning of their trip they walked mostly in silence, though he was fairly certain he could hear the lad's overcharged mind working up a laundry list of questions. The sun was barely visible on the horizon now; he wasn't sure if they could reach the station before nightfall.

"Hey, kid. Would ya like to set up camp once it's dark, or keep walkin'? We'll have a bright moon tonight, it's better than any flashlight."

Junior sighed. "I'm good for another couple of hours of walking, easy. Mister Moriarty, how are you so confident we're going in the right direction? If you only briefly met my dad, you couldn't possibly have gotten to know him very well. He would've been taking care of me, and preparing for going to the Vault."

Oh, here we go. Colin had been hoping Junior would have forgotten, or been too focused on catching up to his father. Maybe Junior could be put off for a while longer with a little Irish obfuscation, but there was no sense in prolonging the agony. After all, he didn't have to tell the boy everything.

"When your Pa was around your age, he came to Megaton to study medicine with the town's doctor. He was one of the only people close to my age in the entire town, and we became fast friends. That's it, nothing more to tell." Colin shifted his backpack slightly to relieve the strain on his shoulders; Gob was a little too good at packing for long trips. What did he put in this bag - a pack of overfed Brahmin?

"So you two were best friends... what was my dad like back then, Mister Moriarty?"

_So_ b_eautiful,_ _t__he angels were jealous of him_. "He was about the same now as he was then. Your Pa never seems to change much. And enough of this _Mister Moriarty_ crap - just call me Colin." Junior snorted at the assessment of his father, and stayed blissfully silent...for about thirty seconds. Colin cringed when the next question pierced the silence; it was just his luck that the apple didn't fall far from the chatty tree.

"What was it like when you two would hang out? What did you talk about? Did you ever pick up ladies together? Did you ever get drunk together?"

_Kid, you have no idea_. "We didn't drink or scout the ladies much. When we spent time together, he was usually lecturing me about how bad smoking was for my health." Junior laughed at that and the laughter soured his mood a bit. It sounded just like his father's laugh. He rummaged in his pocket for his packet of cigarettes and lit up while Junior undoubtedly came up with a new slew of questions. He heard a buzzing noise in the distance, most likely bloatflies. Shitty bugs... their vision was terrible and they wouldn't be a threat, so long as the travelers stayed silent.

The buzzing dropped behind them, replaced by the sound of dry grass crunching under their feet. If memory served, they should be nearing the Metro station. Hopefully James had stopped to camp by now; if Colin's instincts were spot on - and their luck held - they would be a party of three within the next few hours. Good old luck o' the Irish! He smirked at how well things had been going so far. Only a handful of pesky irradiated critters had to be wasted on their trek here. No bad weather or weapon malfunctions... it was almost _too _smooth. Hairs on the back of his neck began to tingle and rise at the thought. They were in the Wastelands, fer fuck's sake! Why hadn't the wastes been littered with the corpses of molerats and radscorpions by this point? Perhaps it was a good sign, that James had unintentionally cleared a path for them. Whatever it was, he was less than thrilled by the lack of action. He stilled the boy with a touch to his arm and said in a low voice, "Make sure your shooter's ready for action, Junior. It's been far too quiet of a trip." Undoubtedly he'd come off looking like an overly cautious, crotchety old fool, but this was James' boy he was chaperoning. His cargo was far too precious for him to be sloppy.

Junior popped out his laser rifle and examined the charge on the ammo pack while Colin inspected Noreen, his double barreled shotgun. All was well weapons-wise, and Colin saw the Metro station entrance in the distance. They holstered their weapons and Colin picked up the pace to close the gap to their goal. Shit, he really was getting old, jumping at shadows like a fucking - was that a growl? Noreen made another appearance as he tried to determine where the unseen predator was. Heavy, fast footfalls approached from their right... location acquired; he raced through his knowledge of Wasteland predators. Both travelers had stilled by this point, watching the giant shape draw closer. Yao Guai, _please _be a yao guai...

_Jesus, Mary, mother fucking Joseph and all the saints in heaven, __that __was __NOT __a yao guai_.

"Run, Junior! Get in the station!" He pivoted sharply and bolted to the downward sloping steps, Junior just ahead of him. Satan's balls, what was a _deathclaw _doing in this area? Junior's momentum slammed him into the gate, and with adrenaline powered speed the lad yanked open the rusted gate, holding it so the Irish blur could dive through. With seconds to spare Junior closed the gate behind them and jumped back, away from the angry, fanged demon.

The two of them panted heavily and watched in stunned horror as the deathclaw tried in vain to get at its prey. Once Junior recovered his breath, he fired several stunningly accurate head shots and felled the giant bastard. Huh, so the kid wasn't useless after all.

"Nice shots, kid. Well, now that the fun is over... it occurred to me that ya got in that gate more easily than I'd expected. Which leads me to think that someone let themselves in here recently. If that someone was yer father, we'll be catchin' up to him a whole lot sooner than we thought. Let's get a move on."

His heart betrayed him by fluttering with excitement at how close they were to James. There was no time for any of that mushy bullshit now! As one, they turned to face the darkness, and replaced their weapons with flashlights. Stepping over piles of rubble and trash, the pair made their way into the gloom of the pre-war ruins.


	4. Chapter 4

James finally decided to stop for the night in the station's security office. Once he'd determined this was where he'd make camp, he hacked the Protectron and programmed it to patrol and kill anything that moved near the room. He also set up a mine perimeter just outside the only door. Once everything was settled and he was eating dinner, he took some time to reflect on how eerie these old underground rooms were. Since they weren't directly exposed to the elements, some of the rooms stayed very well preserved. The space he was currently camping out in had surprisingly little damage. He could almost picture the room ready and waiting for its prewar occupants to start their work day. The Protectron holding tank bathed the room in a light green glow, which was rather pleasing to the eyes. Filing cabinets lined the walls, filled with various odd treasures; this was where he had thankfully found a metro ticket for the robot. Despite the peace and relative safety of his temporary shelter, he almost regretted not camping outside. After being in the vault so long, it would have been nice to lay back and lose himself in the blanket of stars. Nature's beauteous bounty might have been able to take his mind off of Colin. Those dead eyes after their 'reunion', the horror of knowing what it was like to be on the receiving end of his temper... And the moans he made on the rare occasion that Colin allowed him access to his divine body, and how good it felt when Colin forced him to be submissive. Colin seemed to instinctively sense his cravings for that glorious loss of control.

No more of _those _thoughts! True, it was tempting to give in to the normal, healthy urge to masturbate. Especially when recalling the sweet taste of Colin's ejaculate, or how wonderful it felt to explore Colin's mouth with his tongue, or those mewls of pleasure he would make when James sucked anywhere on his neck with _just _the right amount of pressure. Damn it, now he was _really _aroused! But - no masturbation! He needed to _rest_; there was a lot of ground to cover tomorrow. He tried meditation to calm his racing thoughts and now-painful erection... and that made it easy for him to hear the sounds that were definitely _not_ from the Protectron. It sounded like two people softly conversing, and damned if one of them didn't sound like Colin... and the other like his own son. Oh good, now he was hallucinating. If this was what almost two decades of abstinence did to his mind, he'd be forced to hire the services of a professional at the next possible opportunity.

After setting down the plate of cram he'd been eating, he stood as quietly as possible and moved to the door. There were indeed two human-sized shadows approaching from the direction he'd come from a couple hours earlier. _They have to be raiders_. He quickly crossed to where his weapon was and checked the ammo level before moving back to the door. It wasn't long before the raiders would cross into the "splash zone" of the outlying mines. Really, he should move away from the door because of the blast, but he couldn't help but be mesmerized by the approaching pair. For raiders, they were awfully calm. Raiders were scavengers who were constantly ready for battle. True raiders would have picked up on the fact that someone else was here long before these two did and charged in like deathclaws. Also, the closer they got, the more he was reminded of voices from his past. There was _no way_ he was hallucinating that thick brogue.

Acting on instinct, he tossed aside his gun and burst through the door, racing to the edge of the mine perimeter. Why did he have to lay down so damn many mines?

"STOP! Don't come any closer! _Mines_!"

James slapped at the dial on his pip-boy to rapidly push the screen's brightness level to maximum, then held it high over his head. He saw the carpet of death traps, and beheld the absolute last thing he would ever have expected to see. There stood his son, who was supposed to be safely tucked away in the vault, and his (_ex?_) lover who - less than twenty four hours prior - had claimed he never wanted to see James again.

Time stopped as the three of them came to terms with what they were seeing. Colin's shrewd gaze had picked up on the mines by this point, and he used one hand to force Junior behind him. James' eyes dropped to the floor; the tips of Colin's boots were less than an inch from the minefield perimeter. He tried to swallow but the sudden and complete dryness of his mouth and throat made that almost impossible.

"There's... there's a code to turn them all off. But... I can't seem to recall it just at the moment. It's in my pip-boy. Please, just... don't move."

He lowered his arm and dialed the brightness down so he could see what he was doing. Swiftly, he accessed his files and found the emergency shut down code for the minefield. "Shut down authorization A32100, field owner James XV69." As one, the tiny red eyes of the mines dimmed. Despite the removal of the immediate threat, nobody moved. Colin merely dropped his arm by his side and regarded the man in front of him with a look James didn't care to analyze. James shifted his eyes a bit and saw a similar look reflected in his offspring's eyes. _Great _- he was reunited with two people who thought he was the antichrist.

"What the _FUCK_, dad!"

The outburst echoed off the walls and caused both Colin and James to jerk in surprise. Colin stepped out of the way as the boy strode forward, stopping a couple inches from his father. James struggled to keep his composure under the boy's withering gaze. If only he could look to Colin for support – but he was fairly certain that doing so would make things worse.

"You _left me_!" James winced at that. "This was planned for a while, wasn't it? And you _never told me_!"

"Junior..." It came out as a croak, barely audible.

"Mister Moriarty said you left me behind to keep me safe. Well _guess what_? The Overseer lost his shit when you left and ordered his guards to kill Jonas and I!"

He did look over in Colin's direction then, only to discover he'd vanished. Coldness gripped him then, spreading through his system like a virus. If Junior continued his diatribe, James couldn't hear it; a low rushing noise filled his ears. Slowly he sunk to his knees before Junior, staring blankly in the direction Colin had been moments before. This was too much... it was all just _too much_. Shaking hands moved to cover his face; with the absolute last dregs of his energy he shut down the wave of hysteria that threatened to break free.

Long moments passed, during which his consciousness threatened to leave him. A hand touched his shoulder, gripped it and shook him. Tears began to work their way down his cheeks, still hidden behind his hands. He couldn't look at his son, he didn't deserve him. James wanted nothing more than to be alone but didn't trust his voice to work properly. Perhaps he'd imagined the hand shaking him earlier; his entire body was trembling with silent sobs now.

Jonas was _dead _and his only child could easily have met the same fate. Colin hated him, and with good reason - how could he have treated the man so shabbily? Whispers filled his mind now; dark thoughts of death danced where thoughts of Project Purity normally played. He drew in a shuddering breath and lost himself to darkness.

* * *

><p>Colin was jerked out of his contemplation of the shot of whiskey in his hand - he really spent far too much time staring at the stuff - by the sound of running. Raiders weren't attacking because they were loud, obnoxious parasites on the teat of the Wasteland, and he heard nothing from the other room. A wide eyed Junior slid to a stop just in front of him; aside from their little experience with the deathclaw, he never saw the lad lose his composure. This ought to be interesting...<p>

"Mister Moriarty! It's dad... I think I _broke _him!"

He tossed back his shot and casually dropped the empty glass atop the filing cabinet he'd been leaning against. "Yer father's the doctor here, kid, not me. He'll have to patch up his own cuts. Did ya lay him out? _Goodness_, I might have to take some fightin' lessons from ya!" He considered downing another shot while Junior struggled to find his next words. His instincts decided him against it; if they were right, and he couldn't remember the last time they weren't, he'd need to stay as sober as possible for what lay ahead.

"No, we didn't fight... not like that. I told him that after he left I'd almost been killed and Jonas _was _killed and he just kind of shut down. I can't get through to him!" Junior twisted his hands together and shifted his shoulders to relieve tension. "Damn it, Mister Moriarty... I was the vault counselor for almost three years. Everyone told me how good I was but right now I have _no idea_ what to do. You're his best friend. Do you think you can help him?"

"Junior. First of all, you have the memory of a goldfish. Did I not tell you to call me Colin? Second, you're a _counselor _and you don't know what to do? What makes you think I do?" He snorted and turned his gaze away from that alluring blue. "He's probably just tired from a long day. Just leave him be, and he'll work things out on his own." It was a good thing Junior could only see his profile; it was difficult for him to maintain a neutral expression at the moment. Truth be told, Junior's words had birthed an intense concern in him. But even with all his years of experience, he too was at a loss as to what should be done.

Junior gripped his upper arm then, pulling his gaze off the far wall and back to the blue. "Damn it, Mister... _err_, Colin! _**Help him**_!"

It occurred to him to tell the brat to piss off. He most likely would have, were it not for the wetness that began to well up in Junior's eyes. A tear broke free and slid down, racing to drip off the kid's jaw. His eyes tracked it down, then kept going to rest on the quivering fingers that were bunched up in his shirt sleeve. Ahh, fuck it. Age was turning him into a damn bleeding heart. He gently disengaged the fingers from his sleeve and put his hands on Junior's shoulders. "Stay here. No matter what you hear or how long it takes, stay in this room and keep the door _shut_. I'll help, but I make no promises. Am I understood?" Junior sniffed, nodded, and used the back of one of his sleeves to wipe the moisture off his face. Colin's heart ached at the gesture; it made Junior look far younger than he was.

After shutting the door behind him, he ran through his options on how to proceed. James was still where his son had left him, curled up in a sort of upright ball of despair. Three long strides took him to James' side, and he knelt down to get an up close survey of the damage. James was quiet as the grave and as still as a corpse, save for an occasional tiny shudder and hitch of breath. He touched James' shoulder and called his name. No change, except that one large tear escaped the hands in front of his face and fell on his lap. He squeezed James' shoulder hard and called his name more forcefully. Nothing...

Ah hell, this was going to take all the Moriarty charm and then some.

"Your son told me about the vault squirrels trying to kill him, James. You can't think that's your fault! How were you supposed to know the overseer was a nutcase? I mean... the man basically telegraphed it to everyone in a hundred mile radius, sure. But you always did see the best in everyone, didn't you? And ya just couldn't imagine him trying to hurt that which you hold most dear." He slowly, carefully threaded his fingers through James' hair while he continued. "That's the whole reason you and I first became involved, wasn't it? Everyone else saw a devious, heartless sack of shit when they saw me. When you looked at me you...well, you saw something else." He used his hands to pry James' hands off his face, moving them into the man's lap. "You're too worthy for the Wasteland... yer brain and heart are far too large for this place." _Still _no movement and those beautiful eyes stayed shut. Well, he absolutely refused to slap James out of his stupor. There had to be some other way.

Pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket, he tried his best to clean up James' face with one hand while his other hand continued to stroke the man's hair. Face cleaned, he tossed the cloth over his shoulder and moved to sit behind the man. With one momentous yank to the back of his shirt, he threw off his balance and made him fall back between his legs. He wound his arms around the limp form and tucked his chin over James' right shoulder. Softly, he began crooning some Gaelic song that his Ma used to sing him as a child; something about swans or clovers or some crap. The translation eluded him and his singing most likely resembled a dying brahmin. But this was his Ma's magic; he could never stay sad when she sang to him like this.

He went through his entire repertoire of songs, some of which were fairly lengthy. James had long since stopped shivering and crying, which was good. To the untrained eye, he almost seemed to be peacefully staring at the ceiling. Judging from the state of Colin's throat, quite a bit of time had passed and not a peep had come from the man. Not good. He extracted one arm and resumed stroking James' hair while he thought of something else to say.

"James. I hope you know that you're not responsible for your friend's death either. He had to have known that a project such as the one you two pulled off carries a great deal of risk. But he believed in your dream enough to willingly take on those risks." Damn, his voice was starting to go hoarse. "I know his loss hurts; you and I are no strangers to pain. But what you have in your brain is too important to just give up now." James sighed and moved his hands to rest lightly on Colin's upper thighs. Colin's heart fluttered with hope. "If you give up here, it hurts everyone in the Wastes... and it means your friend's death was in vain." The security room door became the focus of James' gaze now. What to do for the big finish? Well, there really was only one thing _to _do now, wasn't there?

His voice dropped to a whisper, and it wasn't just from all the singing. "_Please_, Jamie... please come back to me."

Silence. Damn! Well isn't this situation just a giant flaming sack of -

"Colin?"

"Jamie!"

"Thought..." James cleared his throat and Colin chuckled; the two of them sounded as if they'd gone ten rounds in a screaming match at a metal working factory. "... you didn't want to see me again. What changed your mind?" Colin's ass was complaining so much from sitting on the rubble strewn floor by this point, it reminded him of Nova. He struggled to a standing position and held out his hand to pull James up as well. They faced each other now, and he was grateful to note that James basically looked like his old self, except for a bit of lingering pain in his eyes. He even managed a faint smile for Colin, which made him want to hug the man until he snapped in two. But jubilance could wait; the man had gone through more than enough excitement for one day.

"What changed my mind? Well, let's see now... _I love you_, ya overly emotional ass! Now, if you're through scaring the shit out of your child and me, how about we have a few thousand shots of my best whiskey - if your brat hasn't polished the bottle off by now, it's been a damned dog's age! - and go to sleep?"

And just like that, the entire room lit up as James' smile went from dim to full tilt over Colin's words. Colin's legs went weak at the sight of it, but that was most likely just the result of spending all that time on the blasted floor.

"In just a moment, please." Colin cocked his head. What was Jamie up to now? "Thank you for helping me, Colin. I'm so sorry I made you worry! But before I patch things up with Junior," Colin had to resist pointing out the unintentional pun, "I have a question. So... since you're here... Um. You've forgiven me, then?" Colin nodded his agreement and smiled; Jamie was always so _cute _when he was at a loss for words. "And you still love me, and I still love you. Does this mean... are we... what _are _we?"

Oh lord, Colin was so goddamned ready for this wretched day to be over. He'd wager all his money that he would sleep through the night for the first time in forever. Even as exhausted as he was, he still knew the answer before the words had finished coming out of James' mouth. "If you're willing to claim me, we're lovers. And just to inform you, I'm never leaving your side. From this day forward, the only thing that will separate us is death. You'd best be agreeable to the terms, because that last part isn't up for debate."

Colin then yanked his Jamie into a kiss so intense that it curled his toes and made him completely forget about his whiskey, his bedroll, and the entire damned Wasteland.


	5. Chapter 5

That evening would undoubtedly have been an interesting one had the three of them not gone to bed feeling like the underside of a Brahmin wrangler's work boots. Before retiring, Junior had rearmed the mines, while Colin cleaned their weapons. James leaned against the desk and watched the two of them work while massaging his temples. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to will away the massive headache he'd gotten from the day's events. At Colin's urging, he downed a few whiskey shots before turning in for the evening. And even though he'd arguably had the worst day of the three, he was the last to fall asleep.

Had Junior not escaped he would be dead alongside Jonas, and it might have been years before James found out - if at all. It's not like he would have been able to waltz back into 101 to check to see why Junior and Jonas weren't responding to his attempts to contact them. It was bad enough that one of his favorite people was undoubtedly "ashed and trashed" by this point under the orders of that _psychopath_ Almodovar. The only link he had to Catherine could very well have met the same fate. Propping himself up on one arm, he peered into the dim light to reassure himself that Junior was still alive, but it was hard to see him. His bag was the furthest from the Protectron tank; all James could make out was a thin shape huddled into the sleeping gear. Such an unsatisfactory glimpse of his boy would have to do for the time being. After what felt like hours of similar fretting, he'd finally succumbed to exhaustion.

Colin's boot nudging him in the ribs was what tore him out of the horrible dream he'd been having. All he remembered was Almodovar chasing after him, intending to beat him to death with Jonas' legs. Junior had been screaming in the background...

"Jamie?"

Sleep-fuzzed eyes attempted to focus on the man looming over him. Had he cried out in his sleep? Hopefully not; he was fairly certain his son and lover thought he was only a few short steps from full-blown insanity. Of course, he'd also thought they both despised him when they had risked the Wasteland's many horrors to track him down. His thinking processes needed a major overhaul; perhaps too many years sheltered in the underground prison had deteriorated his synapses. "Mmyeah... what... is everything ok?" Struggling to sit up, he took a moment to reorient himself to his surroundings before returning his attention to Colin, who was now squatting beside his bag.

"Ya feel like getting up sometime this century, darlin'? We let ya sleep as long as we could, but it's mid-afternoon and we really ought to start makin' tracks." Colin handed him a plate of shriveled black lumps that smelled faintly of burned squirrel, then stood up and waited for James to do... something. Was he really supposed to eat this? A second sniff of the plate made his stomach clench in horror, so he put the plate aside and slid out of his bag to finally face the day. Sleeping until mid-afternoon would have been horrifying had he any idea what time he'd finally fallen asleep. The last time he'd woken up so late was... goodness; it was back when he was twenty! It had been his birthday as a matter of fact; Colin had celebrated it by having sex with him until parts of their anatomy had been raw for days. He winced at the thought, then winced again when he saw the inedible disaster that sat on the floor. "Colin? You made breakfast, didn't you?" Thankfully, his query went unheard; Colin was already roaming the room, packing up the remainders of their things. James took the opportunity to dump the food into one of the filing cabinet drawers. Hopefully, no scavengers found whatever it was he'd have to pretend he ate.

It took them hours of exhausting hiking to navigate the wrecked train cars, smashed walls and rubble heaps that constituted the remains of the prewar train tunnels. Several times, their path had been completely blocked and they'd had to backtrack. Colin's knowledge of the Wastes wound up serving them better than the Pip-boy maps had. Even so, they estimated only a few miles had been traversed by the end of the day. James wasn't sure how the others felt, but he was disheartened. That, grief over the loss of his friend, and anxiety over several ghoul and raider attacks made him more than ready to call it a day by the time his Pip-boy said it was evening.

"So ya want to stop now, do ya? What happened to the importance of saving the Wasteland? The sciencey crap in your bag isn't going to walk itself to its destination, is it?" Not far from them, he saw a chain link fence that blocked off the entrance to whatever station they were in. Being underground was highly overrated; he was going to push to camp outside tonight. They could start up a campfire, and he could cook something edible. Maybe he would teach Colin the correct way to prepare things that had to go inside a person's body. Edible things, that is; Colin was very adept at preparing other things to go inside... No. Enough of those thoughts. It wouldn't do to be around his son with a prominent erection. He was a scientist, a father and a gentleman, not a horny eighteen-year-old. "It's not _crap_, and 'sciencey' isn't a word. I vote we camp outside tonight. I've had enough of not seeing the sky to last me a lifetime."

Without waiting for input, he headed towards the fence, squeezing through a hole in the subway gates with what he hoped was an authoritative air. In his peripheral vision, he saw Junior vault over the gate. Colin undoubtedly followed James' path; he always did prefer the path of least resistance. This particular fence was difficult to open but the three of them managed it somehow and in less than an hour he saw his vision fulfilled as the three of them huddled around a medium-sized fire. Colin was rummaging around in his bag, most likely for cigarettes or alcohol. James was prepping a low fat and rad-free meal that consisted of vegetables and what he hoped was tofu. Meanwhile, Junior was placing every mine in their inventory around the makeshift camp. He seemed ill at ease, which probably was a result of a combination of the deathclaw attack they had told him about, and not being used to the vastness of the cosmos above them. James knew that the best course of action was to leave his son alone; he always preferred his father to have a hands-off attitude while he dealt with major changes. James had always been the opposite; he only ever had done hands-off out of necessity. To him, it was infinitely preferable to have loving arms wrapped around him and soothing words murmured in his ear during times of crisis. He remembered being afraid of what Colin's reaction to that would be. Surprisingly, Colin had reacted with equanimity; accepting it as easily as James' rectum had - _stop that_.

Where were these inappropriate thoughts coming from? Yes, it had been a hideously long time since he'd found comfort in a lover's intimate touch, but that didn't explain why his inner voice over the last twenty four hours was beginning to sound like Colin. Perversion was Colin's forte; _someone _had to be completely respectable in this relationship. He shifted slightly to ease the building pressure in his crotch. Their dinner was done, he took it off to cool and swapped the food pot with a pot of herbal tea. Colin would complain but he really needed something in his system that wouldn't destroy his liver. Were he a believer, he'd say it was divine providence that kept the man going. It certainly wasn't his living habits.

When he leaned back on his sleeping bag and stared up at the sky, it was comforting to know that everything he saw could be explained scientifically. Even his relationship with the irrational enigma of a man currently relieving his bladder in some nearby bushes could be explained away logically. It was a cocktail of hormones and synaptic firing with a splash of psychological issues thrown in. Ah, but if he'd learned anything from Colin, it was that the aberrant often led to the most fun and adventure.

He was so busy listening for the water to boil that he completely missed Colin coming up behind him. James jumped a bit as Colin loomed over him, but his merry laugh chased away any shock. "Ran into the kid on the way back from draining my snake. He said he's going to go for a short walk, maybe scout the area a little bit. Seems he's not fond of being outdoors. Here's hoping he gets used to it!" Hmm, interesting that Colin was so observant. "Have you ever seen such a lovely night, Jamie?"

Indeed he had. It was the night he'd proposed to Catherine on the bridge of Rivet City. Then there was the night he and Colin had snuck out of the Saloon to avoid Colin's father's latest drunken rage. They had wound up making love on a long, flat rock under the moon, miles from Megaton. Colin had allowed James to take him that evening; he was fairly certain their climaxes had been heard all the way back in the city. '_Love triumphs over brutality'_, Colin had whispered in James' ear as their breathing and heartbeats returned to normal.

"Jaaaamie?"

"Hmm?"

"Where did ya go, lover? There was a strange look in those eyes of yours just now."

"Just reflecting on the past. Oh hell, I forgot about the tea!" He hurried to tend to the pot but it was most likely over brewed; daydreaming and tea making didn't mix well. He jumped again when Colin's arms slid around his waist. "Would ya happen to have been reflecting on _our _past?" Colin's nose nuzzled at his ear lobe and the desire he'd been struggling with earlier flared up shockingly fast. The idea of his son seeing him with a prominent erection cooled it down until Colin's hand shot downward and gripped his growing bulge. "Well, well! I'm right again. How about I take care of this for ya, handsome?" Those damned fingers chased away thoughts of propriety for his son's sake for a few brief seconds before his rational mind struggled out of the sex haze and made him struggle out of Colin's embrace.

He turned to face the smug, sexy bastard and strained to find words to explain why doing anything while traveling was a bad idea, but all that he managed was heavy breathing. Colin rolled his eyes. "_Really_, Jamie. You always were a boy scout, but your son is a man now and I don't think he'll give two figs about us. Besides, it's bad for your health to resist the Moriarty charm for too long! At this rate, your cock's going to explode!"

Before he could reply, a twig snapped behind them. Colin tensed and looked over James' shoulder, then relaxed; Junior had returned. Oh no - he had to get rid of his erection, and fast! He began chanting _Old Lady Palmer naked_ in his head while Colin smirked at him. Bastard.

"Hey dad, sorry I took so long. Just had to walk off some energy."

There was too much light here, and his penis still had far too much blood in it. "Uh. That's fine, Junior. Actually, I was hoping you and I might do a little walking. Right now. Unless you're hungry." Junior stood next to him now and searched his father's face with a slightly confused look. _Yes, look at my face, do not look down_. Junior said something, probably agreeing to the walk, and moved off toward the darkness once more. James shot Colin a look of consternation before following his son.

They were far enough away from the camp to be out of Colin's earshot before Junior stopped them, leaning against a rock formation. "Ok, dad, we need to talk. Back there, your voice had that tone you get when you're stressing over something. And you've been acting weird all day; every time I go to the bathroom, you look panicked. Is something going on?"

James weighed his options. His son _was _a man now, and was remarkably enlightened for his age. Honesty and integrity had always been at the forefront of his relationship with Junior, so the truth needed to be told. But it had only been forty eight hours since his world had changed radically on so many levels; he had really hoped for more time to process it all before having this conversation. It wouldn't be wrong for him to ask for short-term privacy, but they had always been so open with each other in the vault and he feared the request might damage their relationship.

Junior's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Now that I think of it, you're always normal whenever it's just you and I. The more attention Colin pays to you, the more you go off-center. And he's been giving you strange looks whenever he thinks I'm not paying attention. But you two can't be fighting; you can handle yourself in a disagreement, you're not the sort to hold bad blood, and Colin said you and he were best friends." James looked at his son out of the corner of his eye; Catherine would have been proud to know that their child had inherited her crafty mind. "And I always wondered about how eager he was to help me find you. Even if you were best friends, it was almost two decades ago since you last saw each other. When I hacked the vault's system, I saw that someone else had been secretly gaining access for a while. My guess? It was you and Jonas tapping in to talk to the outside world about your project. In all that time, did you contact Colin?" James shook his head, keeping his focus trained directly ahead of him. He wasn't afraid of his son; he simply had no idea what to do or say; the best course of action at times like this was usually to stay as silent as possible.

"Huh... almost twenty years with no contact, but he abandons the only life he's known without a second thought to track down a friend of his. No offense, but this guy doesn't come off as having the strongest morals or ethics. What reason would someone like that have to make such a major life change at a moment's notice for someone he hasn't spoken to in forever?" James heard the wind whistle softly around them; that sound always was so plaintive to him. Did it sound so sad before the great war?

"I've spent the last two years healing emotional crises and helping people find themselves. One thing I was surprisingly good at was ferreting out a person's hidden truths. After reading how homophobic the prewar society was, it was surprising to note how... flexible the rules became after their time. Even locked away from the Wastes for generations, that openness surfaced in the vault. I can't betray confidences, but you would have been amazed to discover the veracity of the desires of many of our vault mates. If vault life is comparable to the Wasteland, then love knows _no _boundaries."

Again, he looked at his son out of the corner of his eye. Junior had shifted his position so that he was fully facing James, and the youth's laser gaze was trained on his father. James knew he was found out, as easily as if he were transparent. But he liked hearing his son's mind at work. It was very reminiscent of the days he and Catherine used to spend long hours analyzing Purity research data. He nervously crossed his arms and waited for his offspring to finish his current train of thought.

A gentle hand touched his arm then, and he was forced to drag his focus to Junior's concerned eyes. The wind picked up at that moment; it battled the heat that flushed his face. "Dad…I love you. I want you to be happy. _Truly _happy, not some prim facade. No matter what you do or whom you love, I will _always _be your devoted son." The wind pulled at the wetness that gathered heavily in his lashes; trails of dampness now ran down his cheeks. He had to be the luckiest man alive.

Junior stepped in front of him then, pulling him into a strong hug. James buried his face in his son's hair, and let the tears flow silently. Junior had truly forgiven him, which he was grateful for. Now he actually stood a chance at forgiving himself.


	6. Chapter 6

James and Junior returned to camp to find Colin had eaten everything James had prepared for dinner and fallen asleep. He lay on his back not far from the fire with his pants unbuttoned to accommodate his bulging stomach. Junior snorted at the sight and moved away to rummage in his pack for something to eat. Rather than feel annoyed, James found himself staring down at Colin's face in wonder; he looked surprisingly innocent in sleep. It was odd to see him this way, with an expression of something other than lust or a devious smirk.

James and Junior spent a couple of pleasant hours talking about almost everything imaginable once they'd found their own dinner, then they joined Colin in slumber. James' dreams were slightly less horrific that night; Jonas' screams for help eventually morphed into more pleasant sounds. Images of past dalliances danced behind his eyelids; Catherine made an appearance initially, but the rest of his dreams involved the silver haired devil who commanded his heart.

The group was back on the road not long after dawn. They decided to chance traveling topside to get a break from the labyrinthine train system. Thankfully, the previous day's efforts got them on the correct side of the Potomac. Not so thankfully, they were in the middle of super mutant territory. James' fingers kept moving nervously to the gun strapped to his side, as if he were checking to see if it was still there. He wasn't necessarily afraid of the mutants; he was afraid of what they would do to his son and lover. He knew without a doubt that if he were to watch either of them die, he would go over the edge and never come back. Amazingly, they only encountered one group of mutants after a couple hours of walking, and they were easily avoided.

Their luck ran out an hour after stopping for lunch. They were approaching the north end of Chevy Chase, which meant they were very close to Galaxy News Radio. Junior was excitedly fiddling with the dial to his pip boy, researching exactly how far they were and trying to determine an approximate time of arrival. Colin was softly humming a tune James couldn't recognize and not so subtly ogling his backside. James was taking in his surroundings, marveling at how much of the area he remembered from his trip here so many years ago.

"It looks like we'll be at GNR in an hour at our current pace!" Junior's smile was so bright, it rivaled the sun. "We really made some great time! Probably helped that we hardly slept at all... as soon as we get there, I'm gonna take a two day nap!"

The idea of a long, uninterrupted sleep sounded marvelous to him. Though it was unlikely to happen with Colin around -

"TIME TO DIE!"

_Shit_.

The three of them scattered like leaves in the wind. Colin executed a military style roll that landed him behind the ruins of a wall. Junior dove in the direction opposite of Colin, sprinting toward the entryway of a reasonably intact office building. After a second's hesitation, James ran _toward _the mutant, pulling out his gun as he ran.

"Dad! _What are you doing_?"

He _had _to keep attention off Colin and Junior. Their adversary thankfully didn't have a minigun; it was armed only with a hunting rifle, which he swung into position as James squeezed off his first shot. James scored a direct hit... in the mutant's shoulder. He really needed to practice more; that shot was meant for the head. The shoulder shot knocked the mutant's aim off; James felt the bullet whiz past his ear. Colleen began blasting away, diverting the mutant's attention while James fired off a second and third shot, one hitting the mutant's gun arm, the other clipping his cheek. Junior finally got over his shock and began zapping away with his energy rifle. The mutant was beginning to look like Swiss cheese by this point; it refocused attention on James, since he was the only one who was out in the open. James realized his precarious position and finally looked around for cover. There was none - so much for his touted intelligence. _What an example to set for Junior!_He dove out of the rifle's path before the next shot could score a hit. That one was even closer than the last, lightly grazing James' temple. James emptied his clip into the mutant's torso, which was pointless due to the armor the bastard was wearing. The rifle was tracking him as fast as he could zig zag over the open terrain; was this the end for him?

BLAM! Colin's last shotgun shell turned the mutant's left eye into a spray of blood. The mutant swung its hands up to cover its face, sending the shot meant for James into the air. Junior dove out from cover and ran to his father's side, sending enough plasma blasts at the mutant to take out a sizable chunk of his neck. Finally, the mutant fell into a pool of rapidly spreading blood. James and Junior watched as the last amounts of blood pulsed out of the open artery in its neck as Colin jogged to join them.

James took a step back to avoid getting the mutant's blood on his boots. When he lifted his gaze to meet his companions', once again he was met with a pair of angry looks. _Marvelous_.

"What the _hell _were ya thinking, Jamie? Surely you don't think I enjoy watching a mutant use ya for target practice?"

James flinched at the worry and anger in Colin's eyes. He held up his hands toward his companions in a silent plea to forestall further raging. "I'm sorry, you two. I shouldn't have run into danger like that. My only excuse is that I was scared you would get hurt. Please forgive me! I'll try not to do something so stupid in the future."

Junior sighed, visibly deflating. Colin broke eye contact to shove Colleen into her holster in a huff. "You might be the smartest person I know, but outside of the laboratory yer a flamin' idiot. _Doctor_." With that, he stalked off in the direction of GNR once more. Junior patted his father's arm, shook his head, and trailed after Colin. James sighed and brought up the rear.

They reached the GNR complex in just over an hour. Signs of constant battle littered the area in front of the radio station; fresh and slightly putrescent mutant corpses lay in various places about the courtyard. Several craters where grenades had gone off caused them to take a serpentine path to the soldier guarding the front door. The young woman was a member of Sara Lyons' unit, the Lyon's Pride, a group he hadn't seen since his Project Purity days. After he explained who they were, she buzzed them inside.

Another member of the Pride led them to a section of the building that served as barracks for the Pride; the offices there had been converted into bedrooms. They had each been assigned their own rooms; Colin's sour mood had passed by this point and he predictably moved to place his belongings in James' room. It was a relief to finally rest in a regular, remarkably soft bed. Though he was eager to speak to Three Dog, his eyes were more eager to close. But between Colin's constant groping attempts and Junior's repeated visits, resting was proving difficult. He finally wound up evicting them both from the room and locking the door. As an afterthought, he dragged a small desk over to block the door. Locks meant nothing to Colin.

He'd only planned to nap for an hour but when he finally roused from the bed it was evening. It was time for the Pride to switch shifts; the commotion in the halls had been what finally pulled him out of slumber. That, and the sound of the door slamming against the desk. "Give me just a second and I'll move the desk, Colin." He smiled and swung his legs out of bed, placing his bare feet on the cold floor. The temperature was surprisingly low in this building, but that had made sleeping that much more satisfying. James padded over to the desk and moved it back out of the way. Before he'd gone to bed, he had just enough energy to remove all his clothing but his cargo pants. He probably should have removed them as well since they were dusty from their travels, but sleep had hit him like a freight train.

Seconds after the desk had been moved enough to let Colin in, he was pulled into a kiss so heated it made him feel lightheaded. Colin was throwing twenty years of longing and thwarted desire into it. James' senses were swimming now, and he felt lost in his own body. Without breaking the embrace, Colin kicked the door shut and pushed him towards the bed. He was grateful to Colin for taking control of the situation, and for pressing him into the bed; he no longer trusted his legs to hold him up.

Strong hands traced the muscles in his chest, shaking fingers threaded through his hair. They shared the same breath; he swore he felt their heartbeats synch up. He bared his neck to Colin in an unspoken request for attention and a subconscious message of submission. They were equal partners in both lust and love, but he always found it darkly thrilling when his mate completely commanded him. Colin broke the kiss to strip his own clothing off, giving James a brief respite from the onslaught. In the space of a heartbeat, Colin stood bare before him, confident, toned... godlike. James watched in a lust-drunk daze as Colin quickly pulled off the cargo pants he'd slept in. Finally, he revealed what he desired, and it bobbed eagerly towards Colin. "Been waiting an eternity for this..." Colin whispered, then slowly dragged his tongue across the slit, laving the precum as if he were licking icing off a cake. James sucked in a breath and held it for a moment as he watched Colin make love to his cock. Strong suction to the frenulum caused his breath to leave him in an explosive puff; his head hit the pillow like his neck gave out when he felt a warm, wet mouth engulf him.

Colin broke the silence by mumbling around his cock. "Mmm! Immph mmnnnt tfff mmmph nnfff fnnn mmphmmmnnn." _Ohhh _those vibrations felt good, but he couldn't make out what his love was trying to tell him. "ColinNNNN _ohhhh _honey, you sh... Uhh!... shouldn't talk with your mouth full..." he managed to get out, followed by a chuckle. Colin pulled off him with a loud pop and said in a husky voice, "I'm meant to tell ya that we're wanted for dinner. But the only thing I want to eat is _this_." That said, Colin went back to sucking off the outer layers of skin on James' phallus.

His hands twisted in the sheets, his cock was a throbbing bar of painful need. This wasn't going to last long at all, the pleasure was too much; all his cells sang with joy at this most intimate of reunions. When he orgasmed, it was so sudden and violent he couldn't do anything but moan at full volume; one long, broken moan that carried all his energy with it. Colin drank his semen with an eagerness he usually reserved for a bottle of fine booze, lapping up any drops that escaped his mouth once the main load was swallowed away. James whimpered softly with every stroke of Colin's tongue. When his lover kissed him and he tasted himself, he made the same soft noise. Colin purred at the tiny post-coital noises James was making, then went back to work ravishing his mouth.

_Goodness_, the man knew how to kiss. Though he'd just achieved orgasm, he already felt his groin perk up a bit at how Colin was working his mouth. He could do this all day, but was also interested in having his lower orifice explored with equal passion. He wrapped his legs around Colin's lean waist and rolled his lower body, rubbing Colin's need between them. Colin ripped his mouth away from James' and they shared a blazing hot look of pure sexual need before Colin disengaged from James entirely and went in search of what was most likely lubrication.

It would be amusing to step outside his body and take a look at himself right now; he felt completely undone. His hair stuck out at awkward angles, he tasted blood from where his lips had split under the force of Colin's oral assault. He was flushed, felt boneless and was pretty sure his neck was purple from all the love marks. And they'd only been at it, what? Ten minutes? He'd be completely unfit for polite company by the time Colin was finally finished with him. And he welcomed it; he wanted to be unable to walk correctly for days, wanted to be sore and sated. Forget the world and its problems; he was going to offer himself wholly to the only person who he wanted to consume him.

His train of thought was interrupted as he felt Colin's fingers gently massaging his anus. The sensation brought his semi hard cock completely back to attention; he lifted his eyelids just enough to see Colin peering intently into the cleft of his backside, with a beatific look upon his face. Then Colin's first finger slid in, and James' eyes dropped closed again. He needed more, had to have all of Colin, but couldn't make his brain form words through the fog of bliss that gripped his brain. More fingers joined the first; he twisted his hips and mewled for more. Then... _finally_! Colin and he were one again. His lover's heavy need slipped slowly into the depths of his anal canal; all James could do was dig his fingernails into Colin's shoulders and be grateful for what he was given.

_**BOOM**_!

In the distance, he heard something... It sounded like a building imploding. Perhaps that was his mind, crumpling under the crushing bliss? James sucked his lower lip between his teeth and worried at it as he was torn in two; this felt so _good_, he needed _more_...

The door to the room slammed open; Junior stood in the doorframe, goggle-eyed. "Dad! There's a super mutant behemoth attacking GNR... _OH WHAT THE HELL_!"

Junior ran out of the room, clutching his eyes and shouting melodramatically about being blind. Buried deep in his mind under waves of hedonistic glory, the traditional James voice mumbled something about making sure his son was OK, and how they should help take down the behemoth. But he and Colin were locked in an intense dance, one that gripped his cognitive functions and enslaved them. Mutants and responsibilities be damned! Colin was suckling at his earlobe now; he heard distant gunfire and explosions behind Colin's angelic chanting. His lover was sonorously moaning nonsensical syllables, but occasionally he could pick out words like 'perfect' and 'Jamie' and it warmed his belly to know how much of an effect he had on the one who was One with him.

The building they were merging in shook violently - or was that Colin knocking his world out of kilter? Colin's sensual body seized up and he screamed as he filled his Jamie with what felt like gallons of semen. James' yell mixed with Colin's as he joined his lover in orgasm; the warmth flooding him was so wonderful, tears streamed out of the corners of his eyes. As he gave his final thrusts, Colin clamped down on his shoulder with eager teeth and drew blood, then lapped at it sluggishly. James could do no more than lie there, with a big smile plastered on his face. This was heaven, he was sure of it.

When he came to, he had no idea what time it was. A heavy, warm, naked Colin was draped across him, and it was wonderful. There was a small pool of drool on his chest, but it wasn't enough to cause him to move out of the tangle of limbs he found himself in. He took several cleansing breaths and stretched as much as he was able, which caused Colin to stir. But he didn't wake up, so James was able to crane his neck and memorize every facet of his angel's features. Those long, dark lashes and luxurious grey hair... Colin had such wonderful cheekbones and full, sensuous lips... James' penis twitched to life then, so he shook Colin awake and it wasn't long before they were at it again; bent limbs, sweaty brows and pain merging into pleasure...

After a good long while, he was able to disengage from Colin to take a shower. He'd hoped to do a quick wash... but five minutes after he stepped under the spray, he found himself pressed into the wall by an eager Colin. They discovered that shampoo was a terrible lubricant, but he really didn't care. One round of shower sex was supposed to be enough, but cleaning themselves of stickiness made them aroused again, which led to a second session in water that was rapidly becoming cold. Though they were in a common area, their antics were likely unnoticed - both their voices were hoarse by this point. If he'd had enough energy, he would have been amused by the situation. After the warmth of the shower and two powerful orgasms, another nap sounded delicious. He really felt guilty for spending so much time away from his son and their host. But then Colin wrapped around him like a bandage, and they dropped off for an hour nap.

* * *

><p><em>Knock, knock, knock<em>.

_Hell_, he was sore. Colin lay on his side next to him, blanket barely clinging to his hips. James' stomach growled and his bladder complained. How much time had passed since he'd let his lover into the room? The gentle knock sounded again. He forced himself out of bed and found a towel to cover himself so he could answer the door.

"Well, well, well... he lives! Damn, James - you look like you went three rounds with a heavyweight champion!" Three Dog leaned companionably against the door frame, arms crossed and a sly smile on his lips. James blushed faintly and cleared his throat to attempt to speak.

"I'm very sorry we missed dinner. And that we didn't properly greet you upon our arrival for that matter." He knew he could be completely honest with his long time friend; years ago, they had developed an instantaneous, intense bond over their lofty dreams for the Wastes. Though they hadn't spent too much time together in person, they had communicated faithfully, whenever possible, over the years. The bond had strengthened further as he got to know Three Dog's generous spirit and open mind. He found him rakishly attractive too, even after all these years. It made him feel a bit guilty to think about it, but he recalled a night or two long ago when he'd allowed himself to fantasize about his friend as he listened to that sexy voice on the radio. He nodded over his shoulder at the bed. "That's Colin Moriarty. I'm not sure if you remember my mentioning him. We, ah... had a bit of a reunion after our arrival." Three Dog smirked at that, then moved away from the door's frame and clapped James on the shoulder. "I kind of figured! The entire building's been listening to you two go at it for the last fifteen hours, you sly dog." He winked, then chuckled. "When you're ready, come on up to the booth. You might want to hear how your son saved us all from the behemoth attack." With that, he left James gawking in the doorway.

His son had taken down a _behemoth_? That would explain the shockingly loud blast from earlier. He didn't have Colin's amazingly extensive knowledge of weaponry, but from the sound of that explosion, he knew it could only have been caused by one weapon - a Fat Man. He went cold at the thought; that weapon had a frightening blast radius, and Junior was unfamiliar with it. Obviously he hadn't been hurt or killed, otherwise someone would have notified him. Though everything seemed to have worked out all right, the paternal part of his brain loudly chastised him for allowing pleasure to get in the way of his duty to protect his only child. But Junior wasn't a child; he was an adult now. James knew he had to let his son make his own decisions; he just wished it wasn't so hard to let go.

Colin slept like the dead, so James was able to meet Three Dog in the studio in no more than fifteen minutes. The only other person in the room with the DJ was his son, who was sitting near Three Dog and watching him work the controls. When Junior's eyes met his, they both blushed a bit, but otherwise were able to carry on normally. He moved to stand next to his son, then leaned over and hugged him. With his hoarse voice, which caused his blush to renew, he apologized for not locking the door earlier. "I'm sorry you had to see that, son. We just... got carried away." Junior just nodded, and focused intently on Three Dog's hands as they danced across the control panel. Three Dog asked him if he'd like to take a seat; he winced at the thought and declined as gracefully as he could. Sitting was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment.

Eventually Junior's embarrassment faded; when Three Dog turned on the guest mike, he eagerly entertained the Wasteland with the story of his battle with the behemoth. James was so fiercely proud of his son; it crossed his mind that life felt perfect at that moment. He had reunited with his missing half, and his brave son was living proof that he hadn't failed as a parent. And they hadn't even started Project Purity back up yet! He smiled as he leaned against the wall, watching his son and friend do their broadcast.

Colin burst through the door an hour later with his hands full of food and a bizarre smile dancing on his lips. "Greetings everyone! Jamie - I bring you food!" By the looks of it, it wasn't a balanced meal but at this point he couldn't even pretend to care. He carefully extracted a mutfruit from the mountain in Colin's hands before Colin moved to dump it all on a nearby table. Three Dog started a prerecorded broadcast and waved James over for their overdue discussion. They were efficient about discussing business matters, which primarily consisted of planning James' part in The Good Fight. Three Dog was eager to notify the wasteland once Project Purity was running, but there was a slight problem. "Our signal's not as strong as it needs to be, Doc. One of our transmitters went down in the DC area. I have my suspicions that the Enclave had something to do with it... but those assholes aren't going to keep GNR down! There's a replacement dish in the Museum of Technology, which is kind of in the area you're headed. You feel up to slaughtering a few dozen mutants to fix the dish?"

_Mutants... why did it have to be mutants?_"Of course, Three Dog. We'll arrange with the Pride to replenish our ammunition and be on our way tomorrow." His professional instincts took over and kept the expression on his face neutral. Maybe he could convince Junior to stay behind, or Colin to wear some heavier armor. Speaking of Colin, he now stood behind Three Dog, tapping the DJ's shoulder to get his attention. He leaned over to whisper something that made a giant grin break out on Three Dog's face. "Well then, it sounds like we're done with all the serious stuff. Time to get back on the air!" He chuckled as he worked his magic on the soundboard and sounded positively giddy when he next addressed his listeners.

"Hello Chiiildren! Sorry to interrupt your regularly scheduled jam session but The Dog has a little surprise for you... and probably for my good friend James as well!" Colin moved to stand next to James, and he felt his nerves start to act up. _Uh oh... what is Colin up to now? _He eyed his lover warily, brain running through all the potential mischief that could involve Colin, a radio station and the Wastelands.

"All right, Colin! The Wastes are listening, my brother!"

Colin cleared his throat, then rummaged in the pocket of his vest. Whatever it was he was looking for, it was small enough to fit in his clenched hand.

"I've been wanting to do this for a long time. First I was too stupid, then life got in the way. I've gotcha now, and I'll not be letting you go again. Jamie..." Colin got down on one knee and opened his hand to reveal a plain gold wedding band. "... will you marry me?"


	7. Chapter 7

Words failed him; James simply nodded his head and smiled. Colin struggled gracelessly to his feet and gestured for Junior to come over and hold the rings.

"Three Dog - can ya make this as quick as possible, darlin? Long ceremonies give me a damn rash."

The DJ chuckled; Colin seemed to be growing on him as well. "You got it." He turned his attention back to the microphone. "Listen up, chiiiildren! For those of you just tuning in, my good friend James is about to get married the super fast way. Colin, do you want to marry James?" Colin rolled his eyes and nodded. "Ok, Colin is locked in. James, you _sure_you want to shack up with this guy for the rest of your life?"

"I'm certain, my friend."

"Great! You're married. Exchange rings, swap spit, and all that jazz."

Colin grabbed James' left hand and wiggled the ring onto the appropriate finger. In a mild daze, James followed suit, taking a bit longer to appreciate Colin's hand with its new accessory.

"How on earth did you manage to find rings that fit so perfectly, Colin?"

"Easy. We always had the same size fingers. One of my suppliers makes great jewelry, blah blah - let's go fuck." He grabbed James' hand. "Later, Three Dog! Thanks again." James tossed an apologetic look over his shoulder at the two remaining occupants of the room as he was dragged away.

The pace Colin set through the halls was exhausting. He charged determinedly toward the barracks, and James occasionally had to jog to keep up.

"Colin... couldn't we wait a bit on the celebratory sex? My nether regions are feeling a bit raw."

"We've been married five minutes, and already your libido's taking a nose dive?"

"The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."

"My ass!" Colin slowed his steps as something occurred to him. "Actually... that's not a bad idea! I'll bottom."

"Couldn't we just snuggle? Bask in the glow of our new union? Appreciate this momentous turn of personal events with our _minds_?"

"You've said so yourself - my mind is in my dick."

"You're incorrigible!"

Finally, they arrived at the door to their room. Colin popped the lock and smirked over his shoulder at his spouse. "If incorrigible means horny, then yes, I am."

James sighed, and followed Colin into their room. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>He had to admit, Colin had been right about one thing. Once he was balls deep in his husband, all the exhaustion and soreness had vanished. Since the urgent necessity of their earlier couplings had been sated, he'd been able to focus much more on the subtle details about what they did. A slow, seductive exploration of the body beneath him revealed an odd truth - with the exception of gorgeous green eyes, suckable lips, strong hands and a sinfully perfect penis, Colin's neck had to be James' favorite part of his body. The noises he was able to pull out of Colin by sucking every available inch of it rushed him to completion, which finished Colin in turn. They lay together afterwards, smiling wide and giggling like young girls. It felt so good to be free from the crushing pain of recent loss, and Colin's proposal had healed any lingering hurt from their past. His past was full of things he couldn't forget. When they were wound around each other, basking in the twin suns of afterglow and love, he couldn't be bothered to care.<p>

The following day and all its chaos arrived too quickly; his own son heralded said chaos. James was awake long before the expected knock came at the door; the unmistakable sounds of power armor echoed off the hallway leading up to his room. Being a light sleeper was no fun when one's temporary camp was shared with a group of power armor wearers. And this time, the face behind the helmet was one he was very familiar with.

"Junior..." James rubbed at his eyes to clear the last remnants of sleep from them. It was far too early for his brain to work properly. "Why - and how - are you wearing power armor?"

His son beamed proudly, and adopted a superhero's stance. "Ms. Lyons taught me how to wear it last night. I couldn't sleep, so she offered to take me outside to train. She said I was a quick study, that normally it takes a lot longer to train recruits to use it! Man, all those workouts in the vault paid off!"

"But _why _did you train for it?"

Junior sighed, and looked over James' shoulder at Colin, still dead to the world. "Let's not have this conversation in the doorway... meet me in my room in ten minutes? I need to take this shit off."

James readied himself as silently as he could. Though Colin was a heavy sleeper, his senses seemed to heighten whenever James was involved. He wanted some more time with just his son, and it would be nice to have a few grope-free moments. By this point, he was fairly certain that every cell in his body was bruised and sore.

Eight minutes later, he was sitting next to Junior on the youth's bed, listening to his hesitant explanation. Two minutes in and already his nerves were frayed. Any time his son started a conversation with "I know you won't like this, but hear me out..." he was certain he could feel fresh ulcers forming.

Junior wanted to go on mission to retrieve the satellite dish alone.

"... and I know how you think, so I figured you might actually trust me to do this if I had a thick steel exoskeleton of sorts..."

_No_. He wasn't going to let his only child go alone into heavily occupied mutant territory. Quick as lightning, the image of Catherine's radiant face upon seeing her child for the first time flashed into his mind. If Junior died, he would be letting her down. Junior's death as a result of his negligence would make Catherine's death meaningless.

"... listening to me?" Junior had a petulant expression on his face and his hands planted peevishly on his hips.

"No." He shook his head. This wasn't happening.

"Yeah that's what I thought. I was saying..."

"I mean, no. I'm not okay with you doing that by yourself. Colin and I are coming with you. Who put this idea in your head?"

Junior tensed; he looked as if he were preparing for battle. "Dad, calm down. I'm an adult now and..."

"Yes, but you're just one man. The area Three Dog wants you to go is swarming with mutants. Power armor isn't a guarantee that you won't be killed!"

"Having you two along isn't a guarantee I won't be killed! Having more than one person along just ups the odds that someone I care about will be hurt or worse!"

James sighed, then chuckled darkly. "Why is it that when I _don't_want you to be like me, you are?"

"I know you're scared of anything happening to me. But dad... you need to let me go. Sheltering me isn't going to help me now. You need to _trust _me."

"How is my accompanying you an act of distrust?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you were present during that unpleasantness with the shotgun toting mutant on the way here. You almost got yourself killed trying to be a martyr. That really pissed me off."

"So I gathered."

"You go with me, I'll have to remain vigilant to make sure you don't pull a stunt like that again, which means you'll be a distraction."

"Too bad. You aren't going without us." James stood and adopted his best fatherly posture, using silence to demand filial piety.

Junior pressed his lips together so hard, they turned into a thin line of displeasure. His hands dropped from his hips in defeat. "Fine, whatever. I'm going to bed now. We have a long day ahead of us."

"Junior..."

Fixing his father with a wan smile, Junior slid under the covers. "It's okay dad. Good night... hit the lights on your way out, please."

He did just that. Before the door fully closed he heard, "I love you". Returning the sentiment put him in a slightly better mood, yet he still had something unsettling gnawing at the back of his mind as he made his way back to his room. Junior was displeased with him, but he was doing the right thing - wasn't he?

* * *

><p>Of <em>course <em>Colin was awake when he softly shut the door behind him, blinking at James with half-lidded, groggy eyes. He sat next to Colin and gave him a moment longer to return to some semblance of lucidity before laying his latest concerns at the feet of his love. Colin listened to the events of the last hour silently, staring with a slight frown at the mountain his feet made under the blanket. Once the hurried rush of words stilled, James damn near held his breath waiting for Colin's reaction.

Colin sighed and patted James on the upper thigh. "You're both right, ya know. Ya do need to let him grow up... learn the ways of being a man. However, he _is _fresh out of the vault. He seems to have a natural ability for surviving a fight, but that might not be enough going up against multiple muties. Going in there alone, even with power armor, is a bit foolhardy." James nodded, and waited to see if Colin had anything else to add. "I suppose ya pulled the fatherly act, demanded that we go with him?" Another nod. "Well... it's probably for the best. Now, it's late as hell, and we should probably get some sleep. Especially if we have to deal with a cranky teenager all day tomorrow." A third nod, then James moved to the other side of the bed, stripping as he went. Lecherous interest and sheer exhaustion warred in Colin's eyes as he followed James' movements. But exhaustion won the battle, and they tangled together under the sheets, slipping together into the comfort of sleep.

* * *

><p>It didn't surprise him at all when, after minutes of pounding at Junior's door the following morning, he opened it to find the room abandoned.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Colin waited for the inevitable meltdown as they surveyed the vacant room. Moments passed; Colin stood at the ready, poised to assist his spouse when he fell apart. James was a strong, brave man but where his son was concerned, he tended to unhinge a bit. James drifted to the center of the room, sighed, and bowed his head.

"He's just like his mother. She came all the way to Rivet City from New Vegas because she was unchallenged." He snorted. "Left behind family, friends, all that she knew, just to look for a greater destiny. Thankfully, Project Purity and I were interesting enough to keep her here."

James turned back to Colin, a sad smile on his mouth, fear and hurt in his eyes. It made Colin's heart ache, and sent a tiny spike of concern through him. Where was the screaming? The anger? The tears?

"Eh, Jamie? I thought you'd be a lot worse off after finding out your only child's gone alone into the jaws of hell."

James readjusted his backpack and considered Colin's statement for a moment. "So did I. But if I go after him, he'll hate me... he might even avoid me. I can't stomach that thought. If running off into impossible odds is what he needs to establish himself as a man, so be it."

Colin realized he probably looked ridiculous as he stared, slack-jawed, at his lover as he gently pushed his way past Colin and out the door to the room. A few stunned seconds were spent gawking at James' retreating form - sparing a moment to appreciate the perfection of his ass - before he scrambled to catch up. Scrambling was damned near impossible with the eighty tons of crap his husband had seen fit to saddle him with. If scientists were so smart, why didn't they make their damn equipment lighter?

The two "Purity pilgrims" (Colin thought that had a nice ring to it; he'd have to share it once James had stopped being so... _odd_) said their goodbyes and left GNR. He didn't realize what time it was until they exited the building; it was very early in the day. Once again, James' evil internal alarm clock got them up far too soon. Good for traveling, bad for Colin's sanity. "I'm going to need to put forth a motion that from here on out we don't get up before the sun's over the horizon." Colin's statement hung in the air; the expected reaction from James never came because he'd retreated into himself. This was a fine kettle of shit; they were up far too early, his spouse was pouting, and if he didn't get some nicotine soon he was fairly certain he'd turn into a yao guai.

He shot a look over his shoulder and was surprised to see that GNR was now a tiny dot, practically undistinguishable from its surroundings. James was speed walking, which made it difficult for him to match the pace and shake a cigarette out of his pack. Damned energetic morning people! He lagged a couple steps behind James as he lit the cigarette and tried to breathe through his irritation and grogginess. In with the good - ah nicotine, how I love ya, darlin' - out with the bad. He shot a plume of smoke into the rapidly brightening sky as James adjusted the dials of his Pip-boy. Occasionally he'd make slight alterations to their course and Colin dutifully followed. The day was beginning to be tolerable. He had a cigarette, a view of James' ass - the Lord himself crafted that fine specimen, he was sure of it - and felt the comforting presence of a flask full of whiskey in the pocket of his vest.

"If we walk for fifteen hours and keep this pace, we can cut the time it takes to Rivet City by almost a day. If we only sleep six hours a night, that goes up to a day and a half. So..." While James muttered calculations to himself, Colin took an extra long pull off his cigarette. He told himself to stay calm and patient; Purity was his spouse's baby, of course he'd be in a punishing rush to get to it. Love might be a many splendored thing, but right now it was a giant pain in the ass. He dropped the remains of his cigarette on the ground and picked up the pace, falling into place alongside James who was practically running by now. "Colin! If we really pull out the stops, we can be at Rivet City in two days!"

There was his old Jamie. The light of excitement danced where it belonged, in those beautiful blue eyes that could turn Colin to jelly. But he knew it wouldn't last, and thanks to Jamie's do-gooder influence, he knew he needed to do something about it. He could practically hear a council convening in his head, made up of his old devious Colin voice, his James angel voice, and a Junior voice. What was Junior doing there? Most likely sitting at devil Colin's side, prepared to smack him upside the head if he got too far out of line. Colin chuckled at that; James missed it, because he was now power walking about five steps ahead of him. Since James seemed intent on rerouting any conversational energy towards racing to Purity, Colin decided to play in his imagination for a while.

Predictably, the devil Colin voice opened up with the argument that James' current, oddly energetic state was beneficial because there were no uncomfortable emotions or awkward moments to deal with, and they were making great time toward a large city that would undoubtedly have a great bar. His recommended course of action was to play along and if the "false normal" began to derail, do whatever was necessary to put it back on track. _No drugging him, you made a promise_! Ah, the angel voice was always so predictable. Devil Colin responded sharply. _We made a lot of promises, and our success rate at keeping them is maybe sixty percent. Jamie always forgives us, so what's one more little slip up? Also, that's not the only tool in our arsenal_. Then Junior joined in. _Yeah, your other tool is sex. You can't solve all your problems with sex and drugs, you know. You'll have to talk to him about this; that's the only way to really get him back to normal_. Of course, angel agreed. _There's lots of alone time between here and Rivet City. Let's get this over with; he'd do the same for you if the roles were reversed_. Devil grumbled something about Junior being a know-it-all just because he's nineteen and was a counselor in a big metal box in the ground for a few years. Junior smirked and finalized good side's argument. _You're a big boy now, and James makes you whole. It's time to act like a big boy would and help your life mate in a mature manner. You do know what maturity is, right?_ Devil knew when he'd been beaten, but couldn't resist telling Junior to fuck off.

When he came out of his reverie, he realized he no longer had Jamie in his sights. There was a hill in front of them; most likely he'd cleared it long ahead of Colin and hadn't noticed he was beginning to really break ranks. That was bad, for the simple reason that his actions indicated he wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings. Were Jamie his usual self, he wouldn't have allowed Colin to get more than a couple steps away without checking to make sure he wasn't dehydrated or about to collapse from heat stroke. Also, he wasn't surveying his surroundings for potential threats, which is of primary importance when crossing the Wastes. Colin felt a twinge of what he hoped was gas but was most likely intuition; it said the shit was about to hit the fan if he didn't get his ass in gear and help James get his head in the right place.

And, of course, that was when the sound of gunfire reached him from James' direction. He sighed and grabbed Colleen, checking to make sure her ammo was full. And, of course, it was. _It's like I'm a fucking boy scout_. He jogged in the direction of the shots; the jog turned into a sprint when all went silent after a couple more blasts. James stood next to two dead raiders, reloading his weapon.

"There you are, Colin! It's a bad idea to daydream in Raider territory, you know." Reloading complete, James' gun went back in its holster and he bolted off in the direction of Rivet City again. Colin felt his eye twitch, and spent a moment trying to rein in his burgeoning temper. That was not an easy task, not at all. Fuck it. Fleet feet sprinted across uneven terrain; lightning fast he was able to grab James' arm and jerk him around. James-the-Bizarre's reign ended NOW.

"Colin, what? Why are we stopping? We need to go faster; we're so close and..."

"Stop it, you ass!"

"Colin!"

"Don't you 'Colin!' me! I'm sweating like a whore after a two day orgy because you're trying to run away from what happened back there!"

"It was just two raiders..."

"Shut it, and keep it shut! So this is how you're dealing with your problems now? You've gone from turning into a zombie, to turning into a mirelurk on crack! You won't be able to run away from the fact that your son is an adult, and can make his own decisions. If his decisions get him killed, well that's bad but that's _life_! You and I, we went through the same thing! Or don't you recall the story you told me about how you came to Megaton in the first place?"

James blinked owlishly in the face of Colin's flash fire tirade. "You're endangering both of us by not being careful or attentive to your surroundings. You're so smart, but it hasn't occurred to you to talk about your feelings with your own spouse! It's a far better way to handle rough patches than going mad, I can tell ya that!"

More blinking from James. Colin would have relished this moment if he didn't want to throttle the man so badly. He unclenched his fists and threw his coup de grace to finish the job. "Oh, and by the way? I figured Junior might pull a stunt like that. So, while you were asleep, I had a little chat with Ms. Lyons. Ya see, she looked familiar to me. Turns out I sent some of my merchants to help her and her group out of a jam during a rough patch with the muties. She owed me a big favor, so I had her reassign one of her best soldiers to tail Junior. Squad mates call him 'Lucky' because he's battle seasoned and always comes out without a scratch. So Junior isn't alone, and I refuse to keep up this asinine pace. If you don't pull your head out of your ass then you'll be doing the rest of this trip alone!"

James' face shifted into a more familiar expression, the one Colin saw when James held his own internal council to process new information. It lasted only a few moments before a beatific smile lit up his face. Colin knew the spell was broken when Jamie gathered him into his arms and hugged him tightly, resting his head in the crook of Colin's neck. His energy felt different now; the frenetic sparking was gone, replaced by the regular mellowness. Colin was grateful as hell for it; he was too old to be marathon running the length of the Wastes.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day proceeded in a fashion that was far more acceptable to Colin. James' gratitude kept him from lecturing when Colin smoked a little more than usual, or when he broke out the flask a couple dozen times. During their eternal hike, Colin had plenty of time to think. Eventually he decided that walking the Wastes sober was extremely boring. The heat was intense today, and was probably keeping activity to a minimum. Minimum activity led to hours of mindless marching, and they were a solid day from their goal. He almost missed James' crazed pacing from earlier. He definitely missed the whiskey he'd drained from his flask. Refills were in his pack but James didn't deem an alcohol replenishment stop a necessity. Damn teetotalers, and double damn to prolonged physical activity that wasn't sex! Right after their dinner break, he resolved to not move from the Rivet City area once they arrived. Dashing to and fro in search of adventure was for the younger whelps like Junior. Speaking of... he hoped James the Younger was kicking ass in his battles with the muties. Deep in his gut he knew Junior would come out on top; he knew a survivor when he saw them. Seems that Junior had inherited James' fortitude and his mother's wily cunning. James could worry himself to an early grave over his son but Colin knew James' genetic copy would fare well in the Wastes.<p>

By the time they camped for the night, Colin was plastered. That may have been the reason James chose that time to stop, actually. They huddled around a campfire underneath the ruins of a freeway overpass, silently contemplating the flames. There hadn't been much conversation at all today; between the goodbyes and the rushing and the heat and the hours of physical exertion, they had been too worn out to chat. Colin lifted his eyes to contemplate the structure over them. He always found the destroyed highways the saddest part of the fallout from the Great War. In their glory days, they were massive structures that represented the heights to which the human mind could imagine and create. The bigger, faster roads radically altered the destiny of many towns... hell, the entire nation! And all of that was gone after a few bombs, a few moments. He imagined the engineers were too pissed about their work being obliterated to care that the world as they knew it was ending.

Soft snoring from his left broke the silence then. Colin sighed; he was too wound up to sleep. Although why he was so excitable was a mystery. He resolved never to travel again once they reached the ship; when he was a lad, traveling was fun, but now it was just tedious. They were a mere two days from their goal and it felt like an eternity away. At least they would be going through mutant territory on their way there; he was looking forward to a lot of target practice. Jamie might have a nervous breakdown, though - how anyone can fear anything more than a yao guai was beyond him - but at least it would keep his mind off his son. He thought about drinking more to make himself tired but decided against that when he heard his liver shriek in complaint. He'd clean his gun but it was already clean enough to eat off of. Sneaking out of the camp to stir up trouble was out; it was as dark as the inside of a dog's ass. He could walk into a whole herd of yao guai and not know it. Maybe he'd rethink his resolution to not travel; making a rug out of those blasted beasts' hides sounded like a great idea.

Eventually, with a cautious look at his love, he went into his bag and found the stash of drugs he had hidden in the inner lining. As much as he loved his Jamie, there was no way he was traveling the wastes without his precious chemicals nearby. He'd put on his best sincere face and promised Jamie he wouldn't dabble in the "ruinous substances" he was wont to use on himself and others. But really, why not? Better living was easily achieved through the wonders of science! The drugs and Colin had a long, frequently pleasurable, history. Pa used to slip him Ultratranq when he was a lad and had overindulged in sugar, or was too excited after a successful hunting trip, and always after Pa was recovering from a hangover. And had there been ill effects? No! Here he was, a valuable and productive member of society. He tossed back some of the off-white pills and lay back on his sleeping bag. Just before he went to sleep, he thought fondly of one particular memory from when he was ten. To alleviate boredom, he and the neighbor's daughter raided Pa's Jet stash. They'd huffed up until they were so wired they could move through walls, went to a nearby town and destroyed everything they could get their hands on. They came back covered in dirt and blood, laughing like hyenas. The beating he'd received after he got home was completely worth it. If it weren't so dark, he might've been tempted to do that tonight. Sometimes, destruction could be fun...

* * *

><p>Jamie was decidedly unhappy with the Ultratranq hangover Colin had the next day. They didn't get moving until two hours past the time Jamie had hoped because Colin was unable to do anything but stare and drool until he had a pot of coffee in him. Jamie had put it down to his egregious overuse of the whiskey flask the day before. Colin did nothing to disabuse him of that notion.<p>

Hours and hours of fast walking began to make Colin feel as if his brain had been wrapped in a sheet of course sandpaper. While James checked his Pip-Boy and slightly adjusted their course, Colin looked around in the hopes that he'd find something to kill. This was beginning to remind him of the trips he used to take with Pa to check on his suppliers and caravans. They never talked, unless Pa was yelling at him for doing something wrong. There were just hours and hours of walking and the occasional gunfight. And lots of drinking, of course. Colin had gotten an early start on the flask in the hopes that the whiskey would dull his urge to slice open his wrists to end the boredom. Which lasted about two minutes, until James snatched the flask out of his hands and tucked it away in a pocket of his bag. Killjoy.

No drinking, no drugs, and they were walking so briskly that there wasn't much conversation. Colin tried to chat not long after James took the whiskey; the bombardment of chatter and questions made James walk almost as fast as the day before. Since carrying on a conversation was a right bitch, he settled in for a torturous day of hellish, mind numbing ennui. Speed walking didn't prevent him from sighing a great deal though.

After the hundredth agonized sigh - yes, he was counting - Jamie slowed to a stop and fixed Colin with a look that was part exasperation and part pity. Colin took a moment to appreciate the way the light from the setting sun turned his love's skin a very lickable golden color. Two more days, tops, and he would once again be able to do wonderfully depraved things to Jamie. That thought, more than anything, kept him going.

"Honey, I know this has been a trying journey. But we're less than a day from Rivet City. If we push through the night, we can cut that down to less than a half a day. Is there any way I can encourage you to stop sighing so much?"

Colin smiled. This was too easy. "You could give me a blow job." Really, why did he even have to ask? Colin considered himself as unchanging as... something that didn't change a lot. Which made him predictable sometimes, but so be it.

"I could, but I won't. Less than a day until we're at our new home, Colin! Let's just keep going, but with less sighing. Would you do that, for me?"

Any smartass comment that raced to the tip of his tongue died a quick death in the face of James' puppy dog eyes. Jamie's puppy dog eyes were so unfair. He was supposed to be the only one who did things that were below the belt, damn it! "Fine, yes, okay. But after we get settled, I want that blow job."

James smiled, and it was brighter than the sun, which had all but disappeared by that point. As Colin trudged over the uneven terrain of the Wastes, using his flashlight to light Jamie's path more than his own, he realized he was a slave to that smile alone. So unfair.

* * *

><p>When the giant hulk of ship appeared in their sights, Colin decided it was the second prettiest sight he'd ever seen. Jamie came first, of course. Unfortunately, Colin's greatly anticipated shootout with the muties never happened. They stepped over several mutant bodies as they made their way to the ship's entrance. The blood looked somewhat fresh under the beam of his flashlight. By the way the gore was splattered over every nearby surface, Colin could tell Rivet City's security was a superb shot. His mouth watered at the thought of possibly having access to high-powered weaponry and ammunition that he might not already have. This had to be the Promised Land.<p>

Colin was impressed by the giant access bridge that swung into place to allow access to Rivet City. He was further impressed by the attractive Chief of Security who greeted them. Chief Harkness wasn't as sexy as Jamie, of course, but damn he was easy on the eyes! He briefly imagined what it would be like to be the meat in a Harkness/Jamie sandwich, then realized he was being left behind as Jamie headed for the ship's hotel.

Every line of his spouse's body screamed exhaustion; Colin imagined he didn't look too springy either. The hotel they would be staying at was called the Weatherly, and it was really a series of ship's cabins on either side of the check-in room. A robot hovered behind the desk; he introduced himself as Mister Buckingham. Jamie paid for a week's stay and shuffled wearily in the direction Buckingham indicated the room was.

The extremely anticlimactic end to their painfully dull (and just painful in general... Colin was certain when he removed his boots that he'd find nothing but bloody stumps) quest to find Rivet City ended with the two of them collapsing in dirty, spent heaps on the cots in the room. Colin was fairly certain he heard snoring coming from Jamie before his head even hit the pillow, and had just enough awareness left to note that he still had his boots on before he faded to black himself.


	9. Chapter 9

It was official; he was a science widow.

Colin sighed and took another pull off his beer bottle. He'd rather be drinking whiskey, but Belle had set him up with free beer for life. Her last liquor supplier should've been shot for overcharging her so badly. Maybe it looked like Colin did nothing but drink all day, sure. But in the three weeks since they'd come to Rivet City, he'd weaseled his way into the City's economy. Managing the flow of goods for his new home didn't require a lot of leg work. Colin prided himself on his ability to electronically hand out any drudgery his job required. He snorted and killed his bottle; the Council might look like they wear the pants on this rust bucket, but He who controls the caps controls the power.

Belle set him up with another beer and he stared into it like it held all the answers. Three weeks, and he could count the number of times he'd seen Jamie on one hand. They hadn't even needed to alert the nerd garden to their presence; word of mouth had that Li bird at their door at the ass crack of dawn the morning after they'd arrived. Colin had barely rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before she'd made off with Jamie, yammering about water samples and unstable atomic nuclei. After a week, Jamie stopped returning to their room on a regular basis at night. Colin had gone to the science lab to investigate and found Jamie asleep at his desk, drooling on a pile of computer printouts. Fuckin' eggheads.

And so now, here he was, turning beer into piss and wondering if he'd ever see his better half again. Jamie's attempts at reassurance were comical; they both knew that things wouldn't calm down once the purifier went live. There were upgrades and maintenance and whatnot. Worse still, the last time he and Jamie had dined together, Jamie had mentioned Li's plans for a mass-production hydroponics lab project. Every city in the wastes would be guaranteed radiation-free sustenance! Colin had nodded and smiled and secretly grew to hate Jamie's other love with a frightening passion. With the Wastes being such a shithole, there would always be something.

Footsteps approached him now; out of the corner of his eye he saw his new drinking buddy ease down on the stool next to him.

"Hey old man! How's it hangin'?"

Colin smirked and nodded his head slightly in greeting. "Short, shriveled, and to the left, ya greasy bastard. How's your day been, kid?"

Butch smirked, and grabbed the bottle Belle had put in front of him. "Boring as shit. Nothing ever happens around here unless I make it happen. So, today I'm going to drink, a lot. Need to top my personal best - twelve beers."

Colin chuckled at that. "Lightweight. Word to the wise: never engage in a drinking contest with me."

The pair lapsed into a companionable silence for a few moments. Colin fiddled with his beer bottle and tried not to pout. How was it even possible that cleaning water was more important than him? He gulped down the rest of his beer and put it back on the counter much harder than he'd intended. Damn. The resulting bang earned him a strange look from Butch and Belle. Leave it to Jamie to unravel The Moriarity Cool. He only hoped that Butch wouldn't notice and try to talk to him about it.

"Hey, everything ok? You look like you just lost your best friend."

Damn! Colin's first instinct was to tell the kid to piss off. But he'd spent so long feeling sorry for himself, he told his first instinct to piss off instead. "You're a lot smarter than you look, Butch. That is exactly what the problem is. The best friend in question is also my husband." That got Butch's full attention; he swiveled his stool so he was facing Colin, eyebrows raised so high they almost disappeared into his hairline.

"Whoa, wait... you're married?"

Why did his marital status come as a shock to everyone? He was a kinder, gentler Colin now that he'd found his other half. Heaven help him from the idiocy that ran rampant on this boat! Belle put the newest bottle of beer in front of Colin; he nodded his thanks at her while he thought of something to say other than snarky commentary about Butch's powers of observation. "For a month now. He's off on that damned Purity project. Works obsessively on the blasted thing." Butch winced but said nothing, so he continued. "In case you didn't know - although everyone seems to know everything on this boat - it's going to save the Wastelands by creating clean water. They have a damned herd of brains over there, and I can _count the number of days I've seen him in the last month on one hand_!" He clenched the beer bottle so tightly his knuckles started going white. Not good; he reached deep inside himself to try to reconnect with The Moriarity Cool. A couple deep breaths... ah, there it was. He gracefully placed his beer back on the bar; he no longer felt the urge to imbibe.

Butch took several long drinks from his beer before regarding Colin with a look that was part curiosity, part pity. "Yea, I'd be pissed too. Hey, tell me about the guy that got someone like _you _to settle down."

After another calming sigh, Colin decided to give the short version. "He's a doctor in addition to being a scientist. Name's James. I've known him for years." He fiddled with the full beer bottle while he waited for Butch's reply. The wait wasn't long.

"Doc James? We had a Doc James in the Vault. He and his kid were sorta responsible for springing us all from the place. Kinda like he opened Pandora's box, heh. Does yours have a son named Junior?"

Of course, one of the only people he considered a friend would have to be connected to his Jamie. Someone who, coincidentally, probably got to spend more face time with Jamie than Colin did. Though it was no fault of Butch's, he felt odd threads of jealousy bubble up from deep inside. More calming breaths, more playing with his untouched beer bottle. "Yes he does. Looks like you've found your Doc James."

Butch's face perked up so bright, it looked like he just got to bang the prom queen. "Holy shit, that's awesome! Is Junior here too? Man, I miss him, he was one of my best pals!" Oh, great. Colin was not in the mood to deal with a hyper Butch. He poked around in his mind for a suitable distraction from the wave of chattering he sensed was heading down the pipeline. "Junior's out prowling the Wastes. Since you knew Jamie for so long, maybe you can tell me some interesting things about his time in the Vault. He doesn't talk about it much." There, that ought to work.

"Not much to tell. He was as much of a workaholic in the Vault as he is out of it. He was always so patient and kind to everyone. Junior was damn lucky to have a dad like that..." Butch finished his beer and gestured at Belle for another before continuing. "My dad? Drank himself to death right after I was born. Sometimes I'd pretend Doc was my dad, 'specially when Junior and I got to hang out a lot. That didn't happen too often, Junior was always studying, but every once in a while I got him to take breaks." Butch snorted, and started in on the new beer Belle slid at him across the counter. "Was during one of those breaks that the only really interesting Doc story I have happened. Junior and I were freakin' out about the G.O.A.T, right? So I get this idea, let's sneak in to the clinic and see if we can't find something to take the edge off. Junior was always a goody two shoes but I got him to go along. We wait until the clinic's closed and it takes me about five seconds to pop that lock. Ain't no lock that can keep the Butch-man out!" Colin snorted lightly at that; it was damn near impossible for him not to like this kid. "So we get into the room with the drugs, thinkin' it's just us and Doc's stash. But there's Doc, at his desk! After Junior finished having his heart attack - 'cause, yanno, Snakes always keep their cool - I notice the reason we're not busted." Colin raised an eyebrow at that. "Turns out Doc's passed out drunk!" This story actually _was _turning out to be interesting.

Butch drained half of his beer in one long drink, and looked away from Colin. He stared absently at the wall, then continued in a hesitant voice. "Doc was always a stand up guy. I didn't even think he drank, so I go over to see what's up. He's got an empty bottle of booze in his left hand, and a picture in his right. Junior's over by the door, hissing at me to get out of there, but I had to see the picture that upset Doc enough to lose his cool. And I'm thinking, it must be a picture of Junior's mom, right? But it wasn't. It was him and some guy, and they're standing in front of a giant bomb. I figured the guy must've been his brother, maybe he got killed or something. And then I freaked 'cause that was a picture of Doc _outside _the vault. We were all supposed to have been born and raised in the vault, right?" Colin had gone completely still once Butch mentioned the contents of the photo. He felt strangely cold. He listened distractedly to the rest of Butch's tale. "So that got me the hell out of the clinic. Junior didn't know anything about his dad being outside the Vault. Maybe it wasn't a pic of Doc at all, I dunno. But that night? That was fuckin' weird."

Colin knew exactly what picture that was. Jenny Stahl had just gotten a new camera from one of his trade caravans and was taking pictures of everything. He'd threatened her with bodily harm if she tried to take a picture of him, and he'd gotten his wish for a while. But then she'd plied her womanly wiles at Jamie, and of course he'd want Colin in the picture, and damned if he had been able to say no to the man. By that point, Jamie had become a drug and he'd been well and truly addicted. What Butch had seen looked like two brothers standing in front of a town landmark. What he hadn't seen was Jamie's hand resting on Colin's lower back, rubbing soft circles there, igniting a familiar flame. Once Jamie had extracted a promise from Jenny for a copy of that picture, Colin had dragged him off for a bout of frantic sex. They'd not even lasted seven minutes. It had bothered him later, as he watched the smoke from his cigarette coil up towards the ceiling. Jamie had undone him so easily, his past self classified Jamie as a liability. Yes, he vividly remembered that internal dialogue. That had occurred not long before Jamie's... departure.

Self loathing started to creep into his conscious at the memory of the weeks that followed the day of the photograph. And then he remembered his thoughts when Jamie came to him just after escaping the Vault. Jamie could've gone straight to Rivet City and Project Purity, but he came to Colin and risked potential recapture. He recalled the look in Jamie's eyes after Colin had punched him. Jamie never asked for resources; Colin had just assumed that was the reason Jamie had come to him. Jamie hadn't asked for a damned thing, just tried to explain his situation, and Colin had assaulted his love and turned his back on him when he needed Colin most.

"Jesus" he whispered. Butch nodded, and thankfully stayed silent. He stared at Butch's profile, then turned to stare at the wall himself. "That happened... how long ago?"

"When we were sixteen, so three years ago."

_Fuck. _

Colin remembered thinking Jamie had tossed him aside like a used condom. He'd assumed that Jamie hadn't thought of him in all that time... but only three years ago a picture of Colin had made the stoic rock of the Vault have an emotional breakdown._ Jesus fucking Christ_. He - Colin - was a complete ass. An utter fucking moron. The sort that didn't deserve to share the same air as Saint James.

He stood up so suddenly, he made Butch jump a bit. He slid the untouched beer at Butch with a quick, nervous motion. "Drink this, kid. Something just came up. I'll talk to you later." And like a flash, he was out of the bar, running to his - their - room like Satan himself was on his heels. Though he was sure the security detail Chief Harkness left at Purity wouldn't like it, he wasn't leaving the ship without Colleen strapped to his back. He might need it when he had a discussion with that Li bitch. Sure, he was a kinder, gentler Colin; that didn't mean he was going to let that _harpy _get between Colin and his man.

* * *

><p>James ran his hands through his hair for the hundredth time as he waited for the latest batch of results to come through. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept and could barely remember who he was but he had to keep going; the Wasteland was depending on him. On his <em>team<em>. Although, it probably wasn't a good idea to run on empty like this. Mistakes are made more easily when team members weren't at one hundred percent. He thought idly about going back to his room on the ship, but the thought only produced a cold knot of worry deep in his stomach. Colin must hate him by now. They were newlyweds, and James had essentially tossed aside his love and best friend. When he'd voiced his concerns to Madison, she'd said the separation was born of necessity. She was everywhere, all the time - he even suspected she was in his head. When guilt over his treatment of Colin threatened to burn him where he stood, suddenly Madison was by his side with a concerned look and a stack of documents as big as a medical textbook. Whenever he tried to compose an electronic message to his husband, she'd dart up with a distracting question or report an error with the equipment. It was maddening.

Especially so since they were mere days away from switching over to large scale testing. Which meant the Potomac could potentially be entirely clean in a month. Already, he'd been working with Officer Lepelletier and the Brotherhood of Steel on working out the minutiae of their plan to get water to the Wastelands. Really, he didn't need to be here as much as he was. He really would have to have a discussion with Madison; hopefully things wouldn't get awkward. _Like the time you told her you were engaged to Catherine_. At first, all had been well; Madison had heaped effusive praise on the couple. Later that night, he'd gone back to the lab to see if he'd left his wristwatch there. Madison had been there, drunk and sobbing. She'd thrown herself at him, trying to kiss him. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted, but her attempts were frantic, rabid. The resulting struggle had slammed them into a table, breaking some lab equipment. That finally shocked her into silence and he'd escaped. The next day, it was as if that nightmarish interlude had never happened. Catherine never knew about that incident, and James had done an admirable job of repressing the memory. Until now.

_Oh Lord; she's trying to break up Colin and I. _

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the lack of Colin, or the lack of sunlight for... days? Weeks? But he suddenly felt afraid. Of his colleague, his _friend _of decades. It wasn't as if she was going to kill him. She was a scientist, a rational, intelligent woman. She'd overcome her jealousy of Catherine and had even helped he and his wife prepare for their new baby. She'd helped bring Junior into the world! There was absolutely no way she would do something like that.

_Absolutely no way? Are you certain?_

James didn't hear the chime of the machine as it completed its data processing. His unfocused eyes saw nothing but the wall in front of him as another memory popped to the fore of his mind. He'd had to leave the delivery room for a few minutes to get some necessary items. When he'd returned, Madison was holding gauze to Catherine's arm. She'd explained that she'd given Catherine a vitamin shot, her potassium levels were low.

_What if it hadn't been a vitamin shot? _

NO. That was it! He was done with working, and being trapped in this room, and suspecting friends of murder. He was going to go home and sleep for a thousand hours; after that he'd let Colin do disgusting things to him for a thousand more hours. Then he'd drink a thousand beers with Colin, which is probably half what Colin usually drank these days. Actually, James wasn't even sure about that. Married a month, and he had no idea how Colin occupied himself during his spouse's absence. That made him feel guilty, and that definitely had to change. No more long hours. He'd delegate everything he possibly could out. His team - Madison - would just have to understand.

As if conjured, Madison appeared next to him with a concerned look. "James, is everything ok? The latest batch of test results came back a few minutes ago, and you haven't even touched them yet." Huh, she would focus on the test results. He really should make her lead of the Purity Project. Actually, that was a great idea... He snapped out of his reverie and turned to fully face her. "You know what? Everything isn't fine, but it's about to be." Madison cocked a worried eyebrow at him but sensed his need to speak and remained silent. "I'm over this." James waved his hand at the row of computers and clipboards and test tubes full of various samples. "I miss my husband, whom I love more than life itself. I should be honeymooning now, not falling asleep to the sound of the water filtration system!" James had worked himself up pretty good by now, he was only dimly aware of Madison's deer-in-headlights look. "So, I'm done. I'm ceding control of this project over to you. I'm stepping down from the role of researcher to that of consultant. There will be entire days, hopefully weeks, where I won't be here. I refuse to be anywhere but in the company of my spouse. Madison, I'm not a young man. These hours are destroying my peace of mind, and quite possibly my marriage! We've practically got Purity exactly where we always hoped it would be, I don't need to be here, and I refuse to do what I've been doing any more."

No angry words from Madison? No words at all, just a look of surprised resignation. That was a surprise. Which immediately faded in the shadow of the surprise he felt when Colin stalked through the doorway to the office, Colleen on his back, a worried security guard trailing him. "I heard you, Jamie. Well done, love! Also, no worries... this wench and all this science crap couldn't come between us." Madison huffed and pulled a pinched face, stepping back at Colin's approach as if he was diseased. "Now, what do you say we get out of here? We need to make up for lost time." He held out his hand and waggled his eyebrows. James blushed and took the proffered hand gratefully. Hell, he loved this man.

* * *

><p>They had made slow, sweet love upon their return to their room. It surprised him immensely that Colin hadn't leapt upon him and devoured him the moment the door closed behind them. Perhaps Colin had gone easy, had figured his Jamie would be too exhausted to hold up under the full intensity of Colin's desire for him. Ultimately, it didn't matter. He rested in Colin's arms in the afterglow of their union, smiling tiredly at Colin's possessive cradling. Everything was as it should be, and James couldn't remember being this happy in his entire life. He wanted to stay awake and savor this feeling for hours but his eyelids wanted desperately to close.<p>

Colin dropped a kiss to the top of James' head and said in a soft voice "Sleep, Jamie. My love, my heart." James smiled again at that, mumbling his love for his Colin before succumbing to a peaceful slumber.


End file.
